Revised Edition 

LEARNING TO READ 

A Manual for Teachers using the 

ALDINE READERS 

FRANK E. SPALDING 

■I 
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, TALE UNIVERSITY 

AND 

CATHERINE T. BRYCE 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 
YALE UNIVERSITY 




NEW YORK 

NEWSON & COMPANY 






COPYRIGHT, 1907, 191 I, 191 6, 191 8, 1922 
BY NEW SON & COMPANY 



#^ 



-\ \^^'^ 



iCU777390 



INTRODUCTION 

The term "method" is used in this Manual 
for want of a better one. Here, however, it has not 
the quite usual meaning of an elaborately wrought- 
out system of formal devices. It refers rather to 
the sum of principles and processes whose appli- 
cation has been found most effective in accom- 
plishing a definite result — teaching children to read 
independently. 

The method described is not the outgrowth of 
untried theories of teaching reading. It is rather 
the description of certain processes for accomplish- 
ing certain results, processes founded on sound psy- 
chological principles, wrought out and perfected in 
thousands of schoolrooms during the last fifteen 
years. These processes have not been tested 
simply in a few exercises, with a few pupils; hun- 
dreds of thousands have been taught solely in 
accordance with the principles and plans set forth 
in this Manual. There is not a plan nor a device 
herein described, from the least to the most im- 
portant, whose practicality and worth has not 
been demonstrated. 

The size of this Manual is not due to any diffi- 
culty in the method. The Manual is large because 

3 



I 



4 INTRODUCTION 

in it the authors have tried to make plain every 
step from the least to the most important, and to 
give an abundance of helpful suggestions, so that 
untrained and inexperienced teachers may learn 
how to teach reading successfully — the founda- 
tion of all school work. Processes and methods are 
not described merely with the direction to follow 
them; the reasons for the use of every process, 
and every device are made clear. This has been 
done in the firm conviction that reading can be 
taught successfully only by teachers who under- 
stand the mental processes involved, the purpose 
and the effect of the methods employed. Such 
understanding is especially necessary that teachers 
may be quick to perceive when the purpose which 
any process or device is intended to serve has 
been accomplished. 

The development of this system of reading was 
made possible by the sympathetic, intelligent, and 
enthusiastic cooperation, of many teachers and 
principals in the public schools of Passaic, New 
Jersey, where the system originated, and of New- 
ton, Massachusetts, where the system was devel- 
oped and perfected. To all these the authors 
take this opportunity of expressing their sincere 
and grateful appreciation. 



CONTENTS 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 



n. 



PAGE 

7 



The Aldine Method 

1. Stories 8 

2. Rhymes 8 

3. Pictures 11 

4. Dramatizing 11 

5. Phonics 15 

6. Vowels and Type Words 16 

7. Ear-training 21 

8. Reading 22 

9. Silent vs. Oral Reading 34; 

10. Expression 38 

Books, Charts, and other Materials .... 47 

1. The Reading Chart 47 

2. Cards 47 

3. Rhyme Charts and Cards 49 

4. The Phonic Chart 50 

5. Seat Work 51 

6. Supplementary Reading 52 

THE METHOD APPLIED 



III. The Primer, 

IV. The Primer, 
V. The Primer, 

VI. The Primer, 

VII. The Primer, 

VIII. The Primer, 

IX. The Primer, 



Pages 

9-11; 


The Chart, 


Pa es 

2 . . 


. 55 


12-15; 


The Chart, 


3,4 . . 


. 67 


16-21 ; 


The Chart, " 


5, 6 . . 


. 73 


22-24; 


The Chart, 


7,8 . . 


. 81 


25-30; 


The Chart 


9, 10 . . 


. 87 


31-39; 


The Chart, 


11-13 . . 


. 93 


40-46; 


The Chart, 


14,15 . . 


. 100 



6 CONTENTS 



CHAPTER Pages Pages PAGE 

X. The Primer, 47-50; The Chart, 16, 17 . 106 

XI. The Primer, 51-55; The Chart, 18, 19 . 110 

XII. The Primer, 56, 57; The Chart, 20, 21 . 114 

XIII. The Primer, 58-63 ; The Chart, 22-24 . 116 

XIV. The Primer, 64-71; The Chart, 25 . 121 
XV. The Primer, 72-80; The Chart, 26, 27 ". 123 

XVI. The Primer, 81-102 127 

XVII. The Primer, 103-110 132 

XVIII. The Primer, 111-123 133 

XIX. The Primer, 124-136 137 

XX. The Primer, 137-149 141 

XXI. The Primer, 150-end 146 

XXII. Book One, 9 150 

XXIII. Book One, 10-14 157 

XXIV. Book One, 15-18 162 

XXV. Book One, 19-26 164 

XXVI. Book One, 27-31 166 

XXVII. Book One, 32-34 169 

XXVIII. Book One. 35-38 172 

XXIX. Book One, 39-43 175 

XXX. Book One, 44-47 178 

XXXI. Book One, 48-55 182 

XXXII. Book One, 56-end 186 

XXXIII. Book Two, 1-36 204 

XXXIV. Book Two, 37-62 214 

XXXV. Book Two, 63-90 217 

XXXVI. Book Two, 93-125 221 

XXXVII. Book Two, 127-156 224 

XXXVIII. Book Two, 157-182 226 

XXXIX. Book Two, 183-213 228 

XL. The Phonic Chart 231-261 

Index 263-276 



LEARNING TO READ 

THE METHOD EXPLAINED 
CHAPTER I 

THE ALDINE METHOD 

The method of teaching children to read, which 
is here presented, although extremely simple and 
entirely natural, cannot be adequately charac- 
terized in a single word, like "phonic," "rhyme," 
"dramatic," "word," "sentence," "thought, "ac- 
tion"; it contains something of all these ideas, 
and more. Yet it is by no means an eclectic method 
in the sense that it embodies merely "the best 
ideas" selected from all methods; it consists of a 
harmonious and progressive series of efforts, means, 
and devices which have been found most effective 
in solving the elementary reading problem. 

But a brief characterization of the method is not 
important, nor even desirable. It is important 
that the teacher who would teach in accordance 
with this method, and who would secure the 
best results possible, should understand clearly 
and appreciate thoroughly the purpose and the 
value of the various processes, means, and ma- 
terials, whose use is described in detail in subse- 

7 



8 LEARNING TO READ 

quent chapters. To facilitate this understanding 
and appreciation is the object of this and the follow- 
ing chapter. 

1. Stories 

What the story does. The story with which the 
teacher introduces each rhyme that the pupils are 
to commit to memory is not a mere device for 
making what might be a hard and disagreeable 
task easy and pleasant for the pupil. The story 
does serve this purpose, but it does much more. 
It arouses the pupil's interest; it attracts and 
holds the pupils's attention; it stimulates and 
directs the pupil's thought; in short, the oral story 
does for the pupil what the printed story must do 
later. By teaching the pupil to listen well, the 
teacher is preparing him to read well. 

2. Rhymes 

A reading vocabulary acquired through rhymes. 
Rhymes, introduced by appropriate stories, furnish 
the pupil with the most effective means of acquir- 
ing an initial stock of "sight words." By memoriz- 
ing rhymes and by associating the spoken with the 
printed and written forms of the words, in accord- 
ance with later detailed directions, the pupil can 
build up a reading vocabulary more than twice as 
fast as by the usual "word," or "sentence," or 
"object" method. 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 9 

Words learned in their use. But the facility 
afforded for acquiring a vocabulary is not the 
only, nor indeed the most important, advantage 
of the rhyme. Through the medium of the rhyme 
the child learns each word in use, in relation to 
other words, in a use and relation which he under- 
stands and of which he is conscious when he is 
learning the written and printed forms of the 
word; thus, from the outset he associates with 
the book word a spoken word which means 
something to him. When he reads this word 
in connection with other words, he at once 
associates with it not its sound alone but its 
meaning. 

Building up a vocabulary of disconnected words, 
and associating the sound of a single word with its 
printed form, is the best possible preparation for 
mechanical reading — that all too prevalent kind 
of school reading which consists only in sounding 
mentally or aloud the printed words. 

The rhyme enables the pupil to help himself. 
There is a third advantage of the rhyme, properly 
used, which is perhaps the greatest of all. It 
gives the pupil at once a measure of independ- 
ence in his reading; it enables and encourages 
him to make use of what he already knows in 
learning more, a most important habit. This ad- 
vantage comes about in this way. When the 



10 LEARNING TO READ 

pupil has thoroughly committed a rhyme to mem- 
ory, and has then learned to point word by word 
to the printed words as he repeats the rhyme, 
associating each spoken word with its printed 
form, he is prepared to read the sentence stories 
which follow the rhyme and which are composed 
of words already used in the rhyme. If he 
comes upon a word which he does not recog- 
nize, as will frequently happen, he must not be 
told the word by the teacher; he must go back 
to the rhyme, repeating and pointing word by 
word until he comes to the word which he did 
not recognize in the reading. His oral memory 
of the rhyme enables him to name the word at 
once. 

How pupils use the rhymes. If the pupil who has 
learned several rhymes comes upon a word in 
the Chart or Primer which he does not recognize 
and which may not be in the last rhyme learned, 
he must hunt through the preceding rhymes, as 
indicated above, until he comes upon the desired 
word. Since all words from the beginning are used 
repeatedly as the reading progresses, a constant 
incidental review is kept up. There is no need 
of failure because the pupil has forgotten some 
word which he had once learned; he has the power 
to find that word, unaided. With this use of the 
rhymes pupils soon become able to read silently 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 11 

at their seats, without constantly interrupting the 
teacher for a word. 

That the rhymes may be used in this way — 
and on no account should the teacher neglect this 
use of them — rhyme charts and rhyme cards for 
pupils' reference are provided. The former are 
especially adapted to use in the class reading pe- 
riods. As each rhyme is learned, the rhyme chart 
should be hung within easy sight and reach of the 
pupils. The rhyme card, with which each pupil 
should be provided, is used in silent reading at the 
seat. 

3. Pictures 

The real function of pictures. Pictures adorn the 
pages of chart and books. But adornment is only 
an incident; it is not the real function which the 
pictures are intended to serve. They are an in- 
tegral part of material and method and should be 
used as such. They show the pupil the pith of the 
story which the teacher tells, introducing the 
rhyme, or they show what the pupil is to read from 
the text. Pictures are to be read, not described. 

4. Dramatizing 

Dramatizing not mere play. Dramatizing is play, 
recreation, agreeable and healthful exercise of 
the mind and body; and as such it is of no 
little value in the economy of the day's work. 



12 LEARNING TO READ 

But dramatizing is much more than a pleasant 
pastime; Hke pictures, it plays an integral and 
important role in the successful teaching of 
reading. 

Dramatizing is complete reading. Like the picture 
and the story, dramatizing prepares the child 
to read appreciatively and expressively. Drama- 
tizing is, indeed, more than a mere preparation 
for reading; dramatizing is reading in the fullest 
sense. Instead of simply thinking and picturing 
in their imagination the thoughts and ideas of the 
printed page, the pupils, in dramatizing, make 
those thoughts and ideas live. Instead of merely 
thinking about the actors in the story which they 
read, the pupils, in dramatizing, become those 
actors themselves. Instead of reading what the 
actors of the story do and say, the pupils, 
as actors, do and say those things themselves. 
This is realistic reading. 

Successful dramatizing requires that the pupil 
forget himself, throw himself into his part, 
really become for the time the actor whom 
he represents. Under these circumstances the 
pupil's acts and his speech are natural and ex- 
pressive. 

Advantages of dramatizing. The chief advantages 
of dramatizing, then, as a part of the process of 
teaching pupils to read, are these: in dramatiz- 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 13 

ing, the pupils grasp not words alone, but ideas; 
and they feel as well as understand. Having 
dramatized a story, they are in condition to read 
it with expression, which means with understand- 
ing and with feeling. On the other hand, having 
really read a selection suitable for dramatization, 
that is, having fully understood it and felt it, they 
are prepared to dramatize it. Dramatizing thus 
serves as a preparation for and a culmination of 
the best primary reading. 

Dramatizing indispensable in teaching non-English 
speaking children. Non-English speaking children, of 
whom scores of thousands enter city schools every 
year, must learn spoken, as well as written and 
printed English words; they must learn not merely 
to associate the written and printed with the spoken 
word, but both with the idea for which they stand. 
This association of word with idea can be secured 
only through the presence of the idea in the child's 
mind when the corresponding word is seen or heard, 
is read or spoken. Taught merely with words in 
books, on blackboard and charts, the non-English 
speaking child who has seen hundreds of trees, and 
who has been running for years, may learn to asso- 
ciate the sounds of the spoken words tree and run 
with their respective printed and written forms, so 
that when he sees these forms he speaks the words 
at once, but without ever having in mind at the 



14 LEARNING TO READ 

time tlie ideas of tree and of running; this is because 
he has never associated the Enghsh words with 
these familiar ideas. 

To secure in such a child's mind the simultaneous 
presence of word and idea, dramatizing is indispen- 
sable. Dramatizing is vivid experience; it is subject 
to control. It can be made to produce in the pupil's 
mind ideas of actions and of relations almost as 
surely, and quite as vividly, as the presence of an 
object produces its idea. Indeed, ideas of objects 
are more effectively produced and associated with 
their corresponding words, when those objects are 
made to figure in a dramatization, than when pre- 
sented disconnectedly. For example, a dramatiza- 
tion of the second rhyme of the Primer,^ 

Run with me 
To the tree, 

(in which, for non-English speaking children, there 
should figure either a real tree or a picture of a 
tree) serves to impress more vividly the idea of the 
concrete object tree, because of its association with 
stirring action, than the mere presentation of the 
object, or picture of the object, together with the 
printed and spoken word, tree. This same drama- 
tization impresses equally vividly the idea of the 
action word, run; it impresses also the more vague 
1 See directions for dramatizing this rhyme, p. 65. 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 15 

ideas of relations expressed by the words with 
and to, ideas which can be reahzed only through 
experience. 

The whole content of the Aldine Primer and Book 
One lends itself to dramatization. The nouns are 
concrete, the verbs are active, the prepositions 
and modifying words stand for simple relations and 
readily perceived attributes. Abundant dramatiza- 
tion of this material, the most complete of all 
"object teaching," will insure for the non-English 
speaking child, as Veil as for the child who enters 
school with a speaking vocabulary of several thou- 
sand words, sure and interested progress in learning 
to read with intelligence and expression. 

5. Phonics 

The constancy of sound values. The one real 
difficulty in the teaching of phonics arises from 
the fact that each of the elementary sounds is 
not uniformly represented by one and the same 
symbol, that each symbol does not uniformly rep- 
resent one and the same sound. Yet there are 
sound values attaching to letters and groups of 
letters with such constancy that indispensable 
habits of pronunciation are formed, even under 
methods of instruction which tend to hinder 
rather than to facilitate the formation of such 
habits. 



16 LEARNING TO READ 

Constant consonant sounds. In promoting the 
formation of these habits, pupils are early taught 
to associate with the following consonants the 
sounds which they represent: b, c (hard), d, /, 
g (hard), h, j, k, I, m, n, p, qu, r, s (sharp), t, v, 
Wf and y. In the case of those consonants which 
represent more than one sound, that sound is 
chosen for this early teaching which occurs most 
frequently in the pupil's reading. At first nothing 
should be said to the pupils about any other 
sounds sometimes attaching to some of these 
letters. 

After the simple consonant sounds are learned, 
blends of these sounds, represented by the follow- 
ing consonant combinations, are learned: 

bl, br, ch, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr, pi, pr, sc, 
sch, scr, sh, shr, sk, si, sm, sn, sp, spl, spr^ 
squ, st, sir, sw, th, thr, tr, tw, wh, and wr. 

Consonant drills must be given daily until pupils 
are able to give the correct sound instantly, whenever 
the symbol is seen. 

6. Vowels and Type Words 

As the sound which each vowel represents on 
any occasion is determined by the relation in 
which the vowel stands to other letters, vowels 
are treated only in the combinations in which they 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 17 

actually occur. That is, the pupils are taught 
to associate no one sound with each vowel, as 
they do with each consonant, but they are taught 
to associate the appropriate sounds with fixed and 
frequently -occurring groups of letters containing 
one or more vowels. For example, they are taught 
to pronounce ill in the same way whether they see 
it in bill, chill, drill, fill, frill, gill, grilly or kill. 

A possibility of mistake. There are, indeed, a 
few more or less plausible objections that may be 
made concerning this practice. It may be said, 
for example, that the habit of always pronouncing 
a given vowel combination in the same way is not 
a safe guide; for the pronunciation of vowels and 
vowel combinations varies. For instance, note 
the sound value of ow in show and in shower; of owl 
in bowl and growl; of oil in roll and dotl; of ive in 
hive and give; of ear in 7iear and bear; of eak in 
weak and break; of ead in head and bead. The 
reply to this objection is that the pupil has within 
himself the power to determine the correct sound 
in such doubtful cases. 

How the pupil corrects his mistakes. Suppose the 
pupil who has learned the sight words head and 
bead has to read this sentence: / will read you 
a story about bread. It is quite possible that he 
would mispronounce both read and bread. But 
he can correct himself. What he reads must 



18 LEARNING TO READ 

"make sense"; he must understand it. If he 
mispronounces either of these words, the sentence 
will be without meaning for him. He tries again, 
applying another pronunciation of ead which he 
knows; then he reads the sentence, and he knows 
that he reads it for he understands it. Pupils 
are taught from the very first rhyme that they 
must understand what they read. 

This is thinking, not guessing. This kind of test 
which the pupil thus applies to his reading is not 
mere guessing on his part; it is an act of sound 
intelligence. The pupil is thinking; he is bringing 
his knowledge and power to bear on the problem 
before him. He is being trained in something more 
than the mere pronunciation of a word. 

The real value of mistakes. Had the pupil in 
this instance been guided by diacritical marks, he 
might indeed have pronounced the words of the 
sentence correctly the first time; he might also 
not have read the sentence, not have understood 
it; and there would have been nothing to indicate 
to the teacher that he was reading only words. 
But in the method we are describing, this measure 
of immediate uncertainty about the correct pro- 
nunciation of some words, so far from being a hin- 
drance to the pupil's independent reading, is made 
a valuable test and stimulus of intelligent reading. 
As every keenly observant teacher knows, there is 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 19 

a constant tendency on the part of pupils to 
read words to the neglect of ideas. Any method 
which focuses attention on the words fosters this 
tendency; any method which compels the pupil 
to direct his attention to ideas opposes it. 

A second objection and the answer. But, to pur- 
sue still farther possible objections to this method 
of determining the correct pronunciation of words, 
suppose the pupil, about to read the sentence 
proposed above, knows the sound of ead only 
as it occurs in head; he will probably pro- 
nounce bread correctly, but will mispronounce 
read. Can he then correct himself? Often; the 
consonants and the context are repeated frequently 
enough to enable the pupil who is accustomed to 
try to understand what he reads, especially if he 
has had the experience of a few months, to get out a 
word like this correctly. If he cannot do this, he is 
given the pronunciation of read, and it becomes 
a type word. Thenceforth, aided by his under- 
standing, the pupil is prepared to determine the 
correct pronunciation of lead, leader, dead, dread, 
meadoiv, bead, plead, tread, steady, etc. 

A third objection answered. But what happens 
if the pupil does not know the spoken form of a 
word which he is trying to read.f^ What means 
has he then of determining whether a pronuncia- 
tion which he may give is correct or not? No 



20 LEARNING TO READ 

means, and he ought to have none. If he doesn't 
know what he is reading about, if he has not the 
elementary ideas for which the words before him 
stand, that fact ought to be revealed, and the more 
strikingly it is revealed the better. What the pupil 
needs under these circumstances, first of all, is 
not a word, but an idea. Any assistance or any 
method that enables him to get the word without 
the idea which the word represents is pernicious. 
How far phonics is used. A further objection 
to this treatment of phonics, as we are describing 
it, may be conceived. It may appear that, not- 
withstanding the fact that the pupil masters hun- 
dreds and thousands of common, regularly-spelled 
words, through their similarity to a few score of type 
words, still not sufficient use is made of the phonetic 
idea. As the key to each series a type word has 
to be learned as a sight word; there are also some 
hundreds of other words which are so irregular 
that they have to be learned, each one by itself, 
as a sight word. Why should not most or all of 
these sight words be mastered in some way by 
phonics? The answer is that these words are 
mastered phonetically to a large and, as the pupil 
advances, to an increasing extent. As the pupil 
gets a little insight into the phonetic idea, he ceases 
to learn words purely as sight words in the sense 
that the words which he learned through his first 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 21 

rhymes were sight words; he always applies to the 
mastery of a new word such knowledge as he has, 
be that word regular or irregular, a member of 
a series to which he has a key word, or the first 
word of that particular form which he has ever 
seen. 

Teaching reading not a system of phonics. But a 
briefer and more pointed answer to the sugges- 
tion of incompleteness in this scheme of phonics 
is that we are not teaching a system of phonics; 
we are teaching children to read. As a means of 
accomplishing this end, phonics has a definite and 
important place. As an end in itself it has no 
place in the primary grades. 

7. Ear-training 

To be of practical use to the child in reading 
independently, the study of phonics requires much 
careful ear-training. The child must learn to hear 
the component sounds of words correctly, to dis- 
tinguish like and unlike sounds unfailingly, and 
to associate sounds with symbols. This requires 
systematic and painstaking ear-training. 

Such training involves also voice-training, 
training in correct and distinct enunciation and 
pronunciation. 

To make this training effective and interesting, 
abundant and varied exercises, often in the form 



22 LEARNING TO READ 

of games, are provided at appropriate places 
throughout this Manual. 

8. Reading 

Preparation for reading. That the oral reading 
exercise may be a success, the pupils should be 
prepared for it, as indicated in sections 6 and 7. 
This does not mean that reading must wait until 
all the mechanism of reading has been made auto- 
matic by drill; real reading should begin the first 
day of school and continue daily without interrup- 
tion. It means that the peculiar difficulties of 
each lesson, chiefly new words and unknown ideas, 
should be anticipated and overcome in an exercise 
preceding the reading proper. Sometimes this pre- 
paratory exercise may be a drill exercise, pure and 
simple; but more often, especially as the reading 
becomes more advanced after leaving the Primer, 
it should take the form of a preliminary study of 
the lesson to be read. 

What real reading means. With the mechanical 
difficulties largely overcome in advance, the pupil's 
mind is free to read ideas, and not mere words. 
What does it mean to read ideas? It means ac- 
tively to think the thoughts and really to feel the 
emotions represented by the words, the sentences, 
the paragraphs, and the whole story read. 

This practical definition of reading will bear 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 23 

analysis. It implies that there are thoughts and 
emotions represented not merely by words, but 
also by sentences, and still further by paragraphs, 
and finally by the whole story. That this impHca- 
tion is abso utely true to fact, a little study and 
reflection must convince any one. 

The frequent failure on the part of the teacher 
to grasp fully and to carry out completely this 
conception of reading, results in the acceptance 
of many an exercise as real reading — and that, 
too, in grades far beyond the primary — which are 
but slightly better than the mere calling of words. 

Four degrees of reading. Beyond the calling of 
words, which is not reading at all, it will serve our 
purpose here to distinguish four degrees, or stages 
in reading, the first three of which are abundantly 
exemplified in practice, but only the fourth is true, 
adequate reading. 

(1) Reading unconnected ideas. In the first and 
lowest of these stages the reader understands, in 
a measure at least, every word, forms in his mind 
the idea which corresponds to the reality for which 
each word stands, and yet he fails to read the sen- 
tence which the words compose. He does not 
conceive the larger thought which should grow out 
of the individual ideas which the separate words 
represent. 

Why ideas are not connected. When a child pro- 



24 LEARNING TO READ 

nounces each word by itself as if it had no connec- 
tion with any other word, often with a long pause 
between successive words, though sometimes, when 
more fluent, calling the words rapidly enough, but 
with a certain jerky, disconnected inflection, he 
is usually, at best, reading only unconnected ideas. 
As he fails in his voice to synthesize the several 
words into one sentence, so he fails in his mind 
to synthesize the several ideas into one complete 
thought. And it is usually true that his failure 
to think the ideas together is due to his failure to 
read the words together into a connected whole. 

The origin of the habit. This kind of reading is 
not natural, is not characteristic either of the child 
mind or of child speech; it is an artificial product, 
the result of poor teaching. The child has been 
taught at first and later allowed to focus his atten- 
tion on individual words and individual ideas. He 
has learned words unconnectedly; he reads sen- 
tences as though they were nothing more than 
horizontal rows of words. 

This habit is strengthened, and sometimes 
formed, by requiring or allowing children to read 
aloud matter rather difficult for them without 
first having read it to themselves. It requires so 
much attention and effort to master each word as 
they come to it, that none is left for the mastery 
of the thought as a whole. 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 25 

How to avoid or break the habit. To prevent 
the formation of this habit is easy; to overcome 
it when once it is well established is difficult. 
The precautions or measures to be adopted for 
either purpose are the same. First of all, the 
teacher must not forget for one moment that 
back of the sentence is a thought, just as back 
of each word is an idea. While she makes sure 
that the pupil understands the ideas, she must 
also make sure that he forms and grasps the 
thought. 

Direct attention to the thought. Used as directed, 
the rhymes give the pupil the right start. Through 
them he gets the thought made up of ideas; by 
means of them, he expresses that thought through 
sentences composed of words. To insure the con- 
tinuance of these processes of thought-getting and 
thought-expressing, the pupil should be aided 
by questions which direct his attention to the 
thought, and by readings which bring out the 
thought. Get the pupil to think the thought and 
he will express it in his reading; get him to read 
the words as they should be read, and he will 
grasp the thought. Constant use of the phrase 
drills, provided abundantly throughout the 
Primer, overcomes the tendency to word-by- 
word reading. 

(2) Reading unconnected thoughts. In the sec- 



26 LEARNING TO READ 

end reading stage the pupil grasps the thought of 
sentences, one at a time, but stops short of think- 
ing sentence-thoughts together into a larger whole. 
This kind of reading is exceedingly prevalent, es- 
pecially in the first grade. And, unlike reading of 
the first stage, it will often seem to be very good 
reading. The individual sentences may be given 
with excellent expression, and the pupil may give 
evidence in other ways that he grasps the thought 
of each sentence. A careful observer, however, 
readily detects the true character of this reading 
when the pupil tries to read sentences whose mean- 
ing and expression are especially dependent on the 
thoughts of preceding sentences. Questions, also, 
that call for an understanding not of a single sen- 
tence, but of a paragraph or group of sentences, 
are sure to reveal the limitations of the pupil's 
mental processes. 

HoiD the habit is formed. This kind of reading, 
like that of the first stage, is not a natural de- 
velopment of child-thought and child-expression; 
it is the product of instruction. Too often the 
reading matter of the first grade encourages this 
kind of reading; indeed it scarcely makes possible 
any better reading. It presents no thoughts higher 
than unconnected sentence-thoughts. There is no 
continuity, no progress of thought from sentence 
to sentence. The sentences are unconnected, and 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 27 

might be read in any order as well as in the order 
given. 

The material presented in the Aldine Readers, 
even in the Primer and Book One, will be found 
not of this kind. Back of even the most simple 
group of sentences is a larger thought or picture 
in the development of which each sente;ice plays 
its part. Whether the pupils get these larger 
thoughts will depend entirely upon the way the 
teacher conducts the work. 

How to avoid the habit. First of all, the teacher 
must get and keep those larger thoughts in her 
own mind, as well as the subordinate thoughts 
out of which the larger ones grow. Then she 
must keep constantly before her as the object of 
the pupil's reading the thinking of those larger 
thoughts, considering the thoughts of the single 
sentences but means to the larger end. This con- 
ception and aim on the part of the teacher will 
serve as the best test of her methods, determining 
whether or not they lead naturally and inevitably 
to the end sought. 

Pupils must read sentences connectedly. In the 
light of this whole discussion it is easy to see 
that the practice of allowing each pupil to read 
but one sentence at a time, which is quite preva- 
lent among first-grade teachers and not uncom- 
mon among second-grade teachers, fosters the 



28 Learning to read 

formation of just the habit which we would avoid. 
If pupils are to think beyond single sentence- 
thoughts, if they are to think from thought to 
thought until they have developed a larger thought, 
they must read from sentence to sentence. They 
must be questioned and stimulated to talk about 
the larger thoughts, and not exclusively about the 
single sentence-thoughts. 

Pupils are capable of thinking and reading con- 
nectedly/. But are pupils of the first grade capa- 
ble of this.'* The reason most frequently given by 
teachers for having their pupils read but one sen- 
tence at a time is that such little children are not 
able to read more. Before accepting this reason as 
a fact, let us ask whether children on entering school 
are capable of understanding the story which the 
teacher tells introducing the first rhyme, or whether 
they can grasp only unconnected sentences of it; 
whether they are capable of reading the story 
which the pictures tell, or whether they can see 
only the different objects of the picture. 

A mechanical difficulty to be overcome. The 
only real difference in these cases is what may be 
called a mechanical one. It requires time and 
experience for the pupils to become so familiar 
with the printed page that they can gather the 
thought as easily and as rapidly through that 
medium as they do through pictures and the 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 29 

spoken word. This mechanical difficulty must not 
be ignored. Where and while it exists it justifies 
and necessitates the reading of a single sentence 
by a pupil. But when, by study and by repeated 
reading, this mechanical difficulty is overcome for 
a paragraph or a connected group of sentences, 
that paragraph or group of sentences should be 
read entire by a single pupil. Only such reading 
will insure the reading of connected thoughts, 
the grasping of the larger thoughts, which we 
desire. 

Hoiv revieiDS should he read. Almost from the 
beginning, reviews should be read in connected 
sentences, a single pupil reading several, giving 
expression to show that he understands each sen- 
tence as but a part of the whole. During the first 
months it will not be the first or the second review 
that can be read successfully in this way; but the 
time will come, must come in the course of re-read- 
ing these early pages, when a pupil will be able to 
read several sentences connectedly in succession. 
Long before the middle of the first year, pupils 
should be regularly reading their first reviews in 
this connected way, and they should be beginning 
this practice with the advance reading. Before 
the end of the first year it should become customary 
for each pupil, even in the advance reading, to read 
several sentences, as many as required, in succes- 



30 LEARNING TO READ 

sion. To make this practice successful the reading 
matter must not be too difficult and the preparation 
for the reading must be adequate. 

(3) Reading unconnected paragraphs. The third 
stage in reading is analogous to the second, and 
is developed in an analogous way. It consists in 
grasping more or less adequately the connected 
thought represented by single paragraphs, or even 
by small groups of paragraphs, but it fails to grasp 
the complete thought of an entire story, poem, or 
argument. Tliis kind of reading will be found 
exemplified in all grades from the first to the high 
school. It is a product of conventional methods 
of instruction which direct the pupil's attention 
almost exclusively to parts, but seldom to the 
largest wholes. 

Origin of the habit. Pupils are required habitu- 
ally to read a single paragraph, or a limited amount; 
they are questioned on a single paragraph; they 
" reproduce " a single paragraph. Whenever the 
questioning or the reproduction is more extended, 
it involves merely a series of paragraphs, taken in 
succession; the effect is the same as though only 
one paragraph were considered. 

Even more pernicious practices. There are many 
other even more pernicious practices in school 
reading which obscure its real purpose. They 
would not be mentioned here were they not so 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 31 

prevalent in even " our best schools." A lesson 
" begins where it was left off," w^hich means not 
that the thought is taken up from the point to 
which it had been developed, but simply that the 
reading is begun on the page, at the paragraph 
and line at which it stopped at the last lesson. 
Pupils read brief passages one after another 
until the " time is up," when " books closed " 
and " books away " end the exercise. If the end 
of the selection is reached before the " time is 
up," the " next " reader begins the next selection 
without a pause, or he may be told to " turn back 
to the beginning "; it really makes little difference 
which he does under these conditions. Another 
simple and attractive method of determining the 
length of the exercise is to " read around the class 
once." 

The pupil misses the point. A pupil accustomed 
to this kind of instruction is often able to repro- 
duce a long story step by step as it was read, 
giving equal emphasis to all details, but is quite 
helpless before the questions. What is it really all 
about? What is the point of it all? Wh3^ indeed, 
should he know what it is all about .f^ Why should 
he see any point to it.'^ The points which have 
been kept most consistently and conspicuously 
before him are to " know the place " when he is 
called; to read his little assignment without " mis- 



32 LEARNING TO READ 

calling any words "; perhaps to " tell what he has 
just read." If his thought ever rises to the stage 
of grasping the whole of a story in its significance, 
it is no credit to his instruction. The best influ- 
ence of that is to keep him entirely occupied with 
details, which are treated as though they were 
complete in themselves. 

Details treated as ends instead of means. From 
the first reading lesson, day after day and year 
after year, attention has been devoted almost ex- 
clusively to details; first it was the word, then 
it was the sentence, finally it was the paragraph. 
These details have been treated as ends instead of 
means, as wholes instead of parts. The resultant 
effect on the pupil is just what we find, just what 
we might have predicted in the beginning. 

The place of details. All these details are im- 
portant, all these details must be studied; but 
they are important and they are to be studied not 
in themselves alone, but as parts of larger wholes 
to which they belong. These larger wholes them- 
selves must be grasped and mastered, not as a re- 
sult of long years of training in reading, but from 
the very beginning — the first day and every day. 

What must he done from the outset. The prac- 
tical meaning of this, in a word, is that from the 
very outset we must teach our pupils to grasp 
the whole, as well as the parts, of everything they 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 33 

read. Indeed, they have not really read a selec- 
tion until they have grasped it as a whole. This 
is not impossible, nor even especially difficult, if 
only the object is kept consistently before us, and 
suitable means are used to attain it. 

Aids in the low primary grades. In the low 
primary grades, where the attainment of this object 
— grasping the whole — seems most difficult, we 
have many indirect aids. The teacher's story, the 
rhyme, the picture, and the dramatization, are all 
excellent means of stimulating and developing con- 
nected and continuous thought. 

The profitable use of " reproduction " exercises. 
Throughout the grades " reproduction " exercises 
may be made most effective means of securing the 
end sought. As too often used, however, these 
exercises only serve the more surely to bring about 
the results we deplore; they are made to consist 
in doing over again just what the pupil did in 
reading, and doing it in the same order and in the 
same way. The pupil merely repeats in order 
the detailed thoughts, often using almost or quite 
the words in which they were originally expressed. 

Pupils must be trained to reproduce (stretching 
the conventional meaning of this term) whatever 
may be called for, a single thought, a larger 
thought, or the whole; and they must be trained 
to reproduce these thoughts and the whole briefly. 



34 LEARNING TO READ 

concisely, and in their own language. A brief 
reproduction, very much briefer than the original, 
if it is really a reproduction, of the essential 
thought of the original, is of much more value than 
an extended reproduction. It requires that the 
pupil really make the thought his own, condense 
it, and put it into his own language. To reproduce 
in two minutes and in 250 words what has been 
read in a half hour and in 4000 words is an exercise 
whose disciplinary value is never exhausted. 

(4) Reading is thinking. The vast difference be- 
tween real reading, and all exercises that merely 
resemble reading more or less remotely, is the 
difference between thinking and not thinking, 
between mental activity and mental passivity. 
It is absurd to say tliat your pupils are good 
readers but poor thinkers; such pupils never 
existed. You cannot make a pupil a good reader 
without at the same time making him a good 
thinker. Direct your efforts more to the pupil's 
thinking and less exclusively to the outward 
activities involved in reading and the desired 
results will be more surely and speedily attained. 

9. Silent vs. Oral Reading 

Schools neglect silent reading. Schools have been 
subject to much criticism, largely just, because 
their instruction in reading concerns itself almost 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 35 

wholly with reading aloud, to the neglect of train- 
ing effective silent reading abilities. The im- 
practicability of this procedure is revealed in the 
universally admitted fact that after leaving school 
very few people have occasion to read much or 
frequently aloud; almost all out-of -school reading 
is silent. 

Furthermore, it has been demonstrated repeat- 
edly, and is a matter of intelligent self-obser- 
vation, that all the necessary accompaniments 
of reading aloud — seeing, sounding, hearing 
— when carried on more or less silently in 
silent reading, make such reading unnecessarily 
slow and inflexible; indeed, experiments point to 
such slowness in reading as a handicap to accuracy. 

In a word, the schools are charged not only 
with neglecting instruction and practice necessary 
to the development of various types of effective 
silent reading abilities, but with handicapping 
their pupils in the formation of such abilities for 
themselves, through fixing invariably in their 
reactions to the printed page all the series of 
visual, vocal, and auditory accompaniments of 
oral reading. 

Aldine teaches silent reading from the beginning. 
The primary root of the school's offence is unques- 
tionably developed from the very beginning, when 
the mechanics of reading are permitted to pre- 



36 LEARNING TO READ 

dominate in the child's consciousness. To avoid 
such predominance, which is just as detrimental 
to real oral reading as it is to the formation of 
silent reading abilities, the Aldine method con- 
sistently and persistently from the very beginning 
subordinates all mechanics to thought and feeling. 

Moreover, constant practice in silent reading, 
in the sense of reading with a minimum of inter- 
ference from the mechanics of reading, is carried 
on from the very beginning. This is done not only 
in the regular reading lessons, but through fre- 
quent and varied exercises calling for expression 
in forms quite different from the printed matter 
before them, such as the " something to do," 
" something to ask," and " something to tell " 
exercises of the primer. The fact that real reading, 
whether oral or silent, is thinking, as stated in the 
last section, has been the constant guide in the 
development of the Aldine method. 

Place and use for both oral and silent reading. Be- 
cause a bad beginning in laying the foundations, fol- 
lowed throughout the grades by exercises devoted 
chiefly to teaching pupils ,to read aloud, fails to 
produce good silent readers, we are not justified in 
condemning oral reading and demanding that it 
be displaced by silent reading at the earliest pos- 
sible moment. There is place and use, not only in 
school, but in life, for both oral and silent reading. 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 37 

Silent reading abilities taught through literature of 
fact and information. Silent reading abilities, in 
variety adapted to the ends to be attained, are 
necessary to deal rapidly and accurately with the 
literature of fact and information. Such abilities 
must be developed by appropriate instruction, to 
which an increasing amount of time should be 
given as the pupil proceeds through the grades. 
The literature, however, of fact and information, 
is not found, at least should not be found in the 
regular Readers, for it is supplied in abundance 
by the texts in history, geography, mathematics, 
civics, and science, by supplementary, reference, 
and library books. The study of these subjects 
and the use of these books of information furnish 
the appropriate opportunity, after the foundations 
are properly laid in beginning reading, to develop 
necessary silent reading abilities. 

Oral reading and the literature of inspiration. But 
there is another kind of literature quite as impor- 
tant as the literature of information. This is the 
literature of inspiration, of power; the literature 
of the emotions and the wull; the literature of 
inspiring ideals; and this literature can be fully 
appreciated only through oral reading. Such 
literature one must read aloud, or at least read 
orally in silence. Of such literature should school 
Readers consist. 



38 LEARNING TO READ 

The oral reading of the literature of inspiration 
is not synonymous with reading aloud any more 
than reading without audible sound is synonymous 
with really silent reading. True oral reading, the 
reading appropriate to inspirational literature, is 
expressive reading. 

10. Expression 

Expression the result of thinking and imitation. 
Good expression in reading is a result of two things, 
thinking and imitation. The teacher who prac- 
tically assumes that expression depends on only 
one of these, be that one which it may, will achieve 
no great success in teaching oral reading. 

It would probably be hard to find a teacher who 
would thoughtfully maintain that imitation alone 
will make really good readers, yet in practice many 
seem to depend upon imitation almost exclusively, 
and still more resort to this process frequently 
when only better thinking on the part of the pupil 
can produce the result desired. On the other 
hand, teachers are numerous who believe that if 
only the pupil can be made to think and to feel 
what he reads, appropriate expression will follow 
of itself. There is evidently need of a discriminat- 
ing appreciation of the role which both thinking 
and imitation play in good reading. 

The role of thinking. Without thinking there can 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 39 

be no really good expression. In order to express 
appropriately what he reads, the pupil must 
actively think the thoughts and really feel the 
emotions which he is trying to express through 
spoken words. This mental state on the part of 
the reader is the foundation, the source, the sub- 
stance, of his expression; it givesJ:o his expression 
that ring of sincerity which cannot be produced 
bj^ mere imitation. 

The role of imitation. Expression, as a fact, is 
natural, spontaneous; its form, however, is largely 
shaped by imitation, conscious or unconscious. 
The development of language is natural to the 
little child. On entering school he is master of 
a spoken vocabulary which he uses, more or less 
effectively, in expressing his thoughts and feelings. 
The words of his vocabulary, the manner of put- 
ting them together, he has acquired by imitating 
those about him. So, too, largely, but not entirely, 
has he acquired his habits of emphasis and inflec- 
tion through imitation. His personal peculiarities 
of voice and manner give individuality to his ex- 
pression. But as the child's vocabulary on enter- 
ing school is limited, so are his habits of expression. 
Both vocabulary and expression will continue to 
develop through imitation. The teacher must not 
ignore this fact. 

Models of expression required. The child will imi- 



40 LEARNING TO READ 

tate. The teacher is largely responsible for what 
he imitates, and the results. Without any model 
which is made to appeal to him consciously, the 
pupil imitates unconsciously the miscellaneous 
reading of his classmates. The result is always 
retrogression, never improvement in expression; 
the whole class grades downward instead of up- 
ward. The teacher must keep consciously and 
constantly before her pupils strong models of 
good expression, of good reading. Only by a 
strong positive guidance which every pupil feels 
and to which he consciously responds can the 
teacher counteract and overcome the many nega- 
tive but injurious influences to which the pupil is 
necessarily subject; only by such guidance can the 
teacher grade her class steadily upward. 

The effect of models. When the pupil undet'- 
stands what he is reading, but fails to express it 
adec{uately, let the teacher show him how; let 
her bring out strongly, sometimes with exaggera- 
tion, the points which have been weak in the 
pupil's reading. The teacher reads thus, not that 
the pupil may merely imitate her voice mechani- 
cally, but for the purpose of stimulating the 
pupil's thought and feeling, of making him fully 
realize what he only understood before, and of let- 
ting him hear how another expresses the ideas and 
emotions represented on the printed page. The 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 41 

effect of frequent stimulating models from the 
teacher is not mechanical uniformity of expression; 
it cannot be that so long as each pupil really 
thinks and feels what he tries to express. The 
effect is rather an inspiration and a conscious 
effort on the part of every pupil to express what 
he reads as well as he can. 

The teacher may often improve the expression 
of her pupils quite as much by reading something 
else, as by reading just what the pupils read. 
Largely for this purpose, several " teacher-and- 
pupil stories " are given in the Primer and First 
Reader. In these stories, teacher and pupils alter- 
nate in reading, the former reading the more dif- 
ficult portions — portions containing words that 
pupils have not yet worked into their reading 
vocabularies. Pupils respond, instinctively as it 
were, to the standard of expression that the teacher 
holds before them as she reads her parts. The 
more capable pupils will soon be found striving 
not only to read their parts as well as the teacher 
reads hers, but to read the teacher's part — in 
spite of the many new words. In this they should 
be encouraged. 

There is no lack of opportunity for the teacher 
to improve the pupils' reading through indirect 
imitation. In dialogue, whether the selection is 
arranged in formal dialogue or in the usual con- 



42 LEARNING TO READ 

versational paragraphs, the teacher may take the 
part of any of the speakers. In any non-conversa- 
tional selection, the teacher may well take her 
turn, from time to time, in reading a paragraph. 
If not too long, a poem should be read entire by 
the teacher before any pupil is called upon to read. 
This is for the purpose of creating through the 
ear — for which poetry is written — a high general 
standard of expression toward which the pupil 
must strive in his own reading. 

Reference to types of expression. It is a great 
advantage to be able to suggest to a pupil the 
spirit in which a passage or selection should be 
rendered by referring him to a type with which 
he is familiar. Any selection or passage which the 
pupil has learned to read well, and which involves 
the expression of feeling similar to that required 
by the passage or selection before him, will serve 
as a type. The mere question, How did you read 
such and such a story .^^ or, How did such and such 
a one speak .^^ is often enough to cause the pupil 
to improve his rendering a hundred per cent. It 
is another application of the principle of helping 
the pupil to use the knowledge or the power which 
he has. 

If the teacher is discriminating and judicious, 
she may at times hold up the reading of certain 
pupils, or certain features of their reading, as 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 43 

worthy of other pupils' emulation, each in his own 
way. This practice is stimulating to all concerned, 
but it should not be relied on exclusively to furnish 
sufficient models of good reading. 

Intelligent rivalry in reading. A generous and in- 
telligent rivalry in reading a given passage with 
the best possible expression is often profitable. 
By this we do not mean to suggest the too common 
practice of requiring one pupil after another to 
" try " a passage which has not been satisfactorily 
rendered. The usual difficulty is that no one 
" tries " intelligently; each one varies the expres- 
sion with the vague hope that the teacher may 
consider the variation an improvement. Finally 
some one is told to " read on," and no one is wiser 
for the several " trials," but all are, if possible, 
more uncertain than in the beginning about the 
suitable rendering of the passage. What is needed 
is a model, a standard, toward which each one can 
strive intelligently. 

Thought and expression inseparable. While thought 
and feeling are indispensable to good expression, 
it is equally true that good expression is one 
of the best means of arousing the appropriate 
thought and feeling. The two, thought and ex- 
pression, really cannot be separated in fact or 
in treatment. Dramatizing, which has already 
been discussed, is of equal aid to both. The 



44 LEARNING TO HEAD 

teacher's story, live discussions with the pupils 
about the subject of their reading, intelligent re- 
production, all are aids both to thought and 
expression. 

The reader lacks a real audience. But there is 
one condition which perhaps more than anything 
else conduces to good oral reading — a condition, 
which, strangely enough, is seldom supplied in the 
schoolroom. That conchtion is an audience, a 
hearer or hearers in whom the reader must try to 
arouse the thoughts and feelings represented by 
what he reads. It is so easy to supply that con- 
dition — there are always those present who might 
be an audience — yet the usual schoolroom routine 
effectually prevents its realization. The reader 
knows, if he thinks of the matter at all, that at 
best his classmates are listening and following his 
reading in their books that they may " keep the 
place " and see whether he miscalls any words. 
They have already read what he is reading, or, if 
not, they are now getting their ideas from their 
books rather than from his reading. Thus, the 
one chief purpose which oral reading serves outside 
the schoolroom is almost wholly ruled out of the 
process of instruction and practice in that art. 
Because this necessary condition is absent, the 
one final test of good oral reading is seldom, if 
ever, applied in the schoolroom. That is the prac- 



THE METHOD EXPLAINED 45 

tical test which determines whether the reading 
does serve its true purpose; whether it does ade- 
quately convey to hearers the thoughts and emo- 
tions which the reader is trying to express. 

How an audience may be supplied. Nothing could 
be easier than to change the schoolroom routine 
so as to give to the oral reading exercise its normal 
function, and, in so doing, apply to each reader 
a test of his performance. It is only necessary to 
let the reader read something new to his class- 
mates, who listen without books. The reader 
should thoroughly prepare what he is to read. This 
preparation he can make as part of his seat work. 

The advantage to reader and hearers. Probably the 
chief reason why this exercise is not more em- 
ployed is that pupil-readers are not able to hold 
the attention of their audience. But that is the 
very reason why the exercise should be employed. 
It is good both for the readers and the hearers. 
The one should learn to read effectively to an audi- 
ence; the others should learn to listen effectively 
to a reader. Effective reading and effective listen- 
ing can be learned only by much practice under 
conditions that compel the reader to read and the 
listener to listen effectively. 

Helpful criticism. In an exercise such as sug- 
gested, the hearers may be made to serve as critics 
in a way that will really help the reader and help 



46 LEARNING TO READ 

them. In general the extent to which the hearers 
are made to listen and understand is in itself a 
measure of the success of the reader's performance. 
But more specifically the hearers, as critics, should 
be trained to note and to tell what they have un- 
derstood well, what they have felt thoroughly, and 
why they have so understood and felt; conversely, 
they should note and tell what they could not 
understand, and, if possible, give the reason for 
their failure to understand. Criticism of this kind 
directs the attention of hearers and reader to some- 
thing vital. It is very different from that criticism 
which is trained to note nothing but miscalled 
words and failures in trivial mechanical details. 

It is not intended to suggest that all school read- 
ing exercises should be of the kind described. But 
such exercises should have a growing place in the 
program by the end of the first year. Care and 
judgment should be used in choosing what the pupil 
is to read. The selection should be short and inter- 
esting. The entire selection need not be read by 
a single pupil. The usual exercises should be con- 
sidered in a way preparatory to this test exercise. 
They should help to overcome the weaknesses which 
a pupil has shown in reading to his classmates. 



CHAPTER II 
BOOKS, CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 

1. The Reading Chart 

The Reading Chart is not a necessity, but a 
great aid. It does not do away wholly with the use 
of the blackboard, but it does greatly lessen the 
amount of work that the teacher would need to 
present in that way, were the chart not available. 
It presents text and pictures clearly before a 
class, enabling the teacher easily to control and 
direct the attention of each pupil. When the 
chart is used, pupils quickly learn to distinguish 
individual words and to follow the lines of large 
type. Every pupil finds and follows readily what 
is pointed out, passing from story to rhyme or 
picture, and thus learning to make these necessary 
references. 

2. Cards 

For class drill, sight-ivord, 'phonic, and word 
and phrase cards are provided. For pupils' use, 
there are seat-work, rhyme, and pupils' phonic drill 
cards. These cards, which have been prepared to 
meet the demands of experience, are important 

47 



48 LEARNING TO READ ' 

aids. They relieve the teacher of much mechan- 
ical work in providing less adequate drill ma- 
terials. 

How sight-word and phonic cards are used. Both 
sight-word and phonic cards are used in class 
drills for the purpose of perfecting the associ- 
ation of the appropriate spoken words and sounds 
with the written forms, so that the one will 
instantly suggest the other. In these drills much 
concert work can be done to advantage. The 
teacher holds her pack of cards directly in front 
of her about on a level with her face. She takes 
a card from the back of the pack and places it-' 
in front of the pack, without turning it over or 
around. 

Successful concert drills. To make this concert 
work thoroughly successful, all pupils should give 
perfect attention. One or a few must not lead 
and the rest fall in behind in their responses; all 
should answer together as one voice. To secure 
such response, it should be understood that the 
teacher will hold the card still an instant beside 
the pack before placing it in front; when it moves 
to the front of the pack, all are to give the word 
or sound together. This slight pause enables the 
slower as well as the quicker ones to prepare to 
answer at the signal, the moving of the card to 
the front of the pack. This pause may be length- 



BOOKS, CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 49 

ened if pupils are just learning words, or if some 
are slow in their recognition. 

This concert drill work should be quick and 
sharp. So conducted it is valuable as a mental 
gymnastic, as well as serving to produce the 
desired results in a fraction of the time required 
by individual drill. There should be sufficient 
individual drill to make sure that all pupils are 
really getting the words and sounds correctly. 

Various other ways in which these cards are 
used, also the ways in which other cards are 
used, are fully described in the detailed direc- 
tions in subsequent chapters. 

3. Rhyme Charts and Cards 

As they are taught, the rhymes are kept in 
plain view, either on the blackboard or on large 
manila charts, so that pupils may readily turn 
to them for reference. When a pupil reading fails 
to recognize a word, the teacher refers him to the 
chart containing the rhyme in which the word 
occurs. This is done repeatedly until the pupil 
has formed the habit of referring to the rhymes 
for any unknown words, without ^direction from 
the teacher. 

For individual reading at his seat, each pupil is 
provided with a rhyme card referred to above. 
The pupil uses this card for reference just 



50 LEARNING TO READ 

as he uses the large rhyme charts in his oral 
reading. 

4. The Phonic Chart 

What the Phonic Chart contains. The Phonic 
Chart comes into use with Book One. It is repro- 
duced page by page at the back of this Manual. 
It contains one hundred seventy "series" of words, 
the words of each series containing the same 
vowel, or vowel combination, with the same sound. 
These words are so arranged in columns that the 
pupil readily recognizes the common sound ele- 
ments and their representation in all the words; 
with these he combines the initial consonant 
sounds which he has learned by thorough drill. 
The pronunciation of the series of words is thus 
made easy. Following these one hundred seventy 
series are thirty-three series of miscellaneous words, 
each series still based, however, on a common 
vowel with a uniform sound. 

Character and purpose of the Phonic Chart. The 
words of this chart have been selected and arranged 
with great care. They not only serve the purpose 
of training in phonics; they are all words repre- 
senting simple ideas in common use by children. 
Most of them will be found already in the spoken 
vocabulary of the English-speaking child; the 
rest of them are readily acquired. The chart con- 



BOOKS, CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 51 

tains altogether over two thousand different words, 
a fairly good-sized reading vocabulary. But the 
primary purpose of this chart is not to furnish 
the pupil with a complete reading vocabulary; it 
is to assist him in forming the habit of pronuncia- 
tion — the habit of analyzing words and of asso- 
ciating certain sounds with certain letters and 
combinations of letters. This habit puts within 
the pupil's power a reading vocabulary practically 
limited only by his experience and understanding. 
Although the treatment of phonics in this chart 
is not complete, it has been found to be quite 
sufficient to serve its purpose; trained with this 
chart and in other ways which this reading method 
provides, pupils do acquire the habit desired. 

5. Seat Work 

Seat work not mere ''busy work." The seat work 
is not mere "busy work," something whose chief 
purpose is to keep the pupils at their seats 
ciuietly occupied while the teacher carries on a 
recitation. The proper use of every device, every 
exercise, contributes something to the great result 
sought — the power to read independently. 

What the seat work requires and does. The 
seat work throughout requires of the pupil such 
thought, discrimination, and judgment as he is 
capable of exercising. It requires that he apply 



52 LEARNING TO READ 

independently his knowledge of words, letters, 
and sounds, as he acquires this knowledge. 

Good judgment necessary. It is not expected 
that all the many methods and devices described 
will be used by any one teacher all the time. 
Good judgment must be exercised in selecting 
those methods and devices which will best accom- 
plish the result desired with any given class at a 
given time. ■ ■^<'- ^'^^ -'"■'' ■--„. 

Reading the best seat work. Since children learn 
to read independently by reading independently, 
the seat work should consist largely in reading 
from interesting books, beginning such reading 
soon after Book One is taken up. ' 

6. Supplementary Reading 

Pupils not limited to Aldine Readers. The char- 
acter of the method is such that children are in 
no way confined to the books of the Aldine series. 
They are taught from the beginning to apply the 
knowledge they have — be it a word, the sound of 
a consonant, or of a vowel combination; hence 
they are able to take up supplementary books at 
any time and read them with the degree of success 
which their vocabulary and knowledge of phonics 
make possible. i » • v " ^^ 

When supplementary reading should begin,\ It is 
advisable to confine the reading ^ to the ^V^'dine 



fedOKS. CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 53 

Primer until that is completed. After pupils are 
half-way through Book One, they may profitably 
carry on reading continuously in supplementary 
books. Their supplementary reading should al- 
ways be a little easier than their regular reading 
in the Aldine books. 

Treatment of supplementary reading. With the 
help of the teacher, pupils should apply the same 
principles of assisting themselves in the supple- 
mentary reading which they applj^ in their regular 
reading. The teacher should always know just 
what knowledge her pupils have of words, letters, 
and sounds; thus she may help them wisely to 
help themselves. In the supplementary reading, 
as in the regular reading, the teacher should never 
tell the pupils words which they are capable of 
making out for themselves; she should assist 
them, when necessary, by helping them to analyze 
words and to compare new with old. 

Pupils should read a large number of supple- 
mentary books, of the grade of Primers and First 
Readers, during the first year. Many classes will 
also be able to read several Second Readers, not 
too difficult. 

Supplementary reading should go along with the 
regular work throughout the second year. After 
the second year, when all pupils should be fluent 
readers of anything they can understand, there 



54 LEARNING TO READ 

need be no distinction between the supplementary 
and regular reading. The habit of self-help 
through knowledge of phonics, a habit which has 
long been well established, should be continued 
and strengthened. 

Supplementary reading necessary. During the first 
two years, at least, regular, systematic work with the 
Aldine books, taken in order, with accompanying 
charts, should be given daily. A large amount of 
supplementary reading matter is necessary to give 
the pupils ample opportunity to apply their power. 
Supplementary reading will usually be taken at 
sight, unless it be something which pupils have 
prepared in their study periods. 

The Aldine Book Two not supplementary. If 
sufficient supplementary reading is available, it is 
not advisable to take up Book Two before the 
beginning of the second grade, however fluently 
first-grade children may be able to read it. This 
is a basal book and should not be used for supple- 
mentary reading in the first grade. In connection 
with the reading of this book much systematic 
drill in phonics should be given. Such drill is 
likely to be slighted or to prove too difficult for 
complete mastery, if the book is read the first 
year. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 
CHAPTER III 

THE PRIMER, Pages 9-11; THE CHART, Page 2 
Rhyme I 





Come and play 






With me today. 




me 




play 


with 




today 



1. Tell the following story, mtroducing the rhyme. 

The Spring Story 

Once upon a time a little boy and his sister asked 
their mother if they might have some money and 
go to the store and buy some candy. 

"No, dears," answered Mother, "I think you 
have had all the candy that is good for you today. 
Run outdoors and play." 

Cross and grieved the two children went out and 
sat down on the porch. 

"I don't want to play," growled the boy. 

"I think we might have just a little candy," 
whined the girl. So they sat on the porch and 
pouted. 

One lone robin was flying about. As there was 
no other bird to play with, he flew to the porch, 

55 



56 LEARNING TO READ 

and perched on the railing. There he sat with his 
head cocked to one side and sang to the children — 

" Come and play 
With me today." 

"We don't want to play with you today," 
cried the cross children. 

The robin flew away. 

A squirrel frisked and chattered on the lawn. 
How happy he felt this glad spring morning! 
As he came near the porch, he sat up tall and 
chattered merrily — 

" Come and play 
With me today." 

"We don't want to play with you today," 
cried the cross children. 

The squirrel ran away. 

The yellow daffodils in the garden looked up at 
the warm sun and smiled. They were so happy. 

Every one seemed happy but our two cross 
children. 

Along the street came a crowd of boys and girls, 
running, skipping, laughing, and shouting. They 
were just as happy as the bird, the squirrel, and 
the daffodils. When they saw the cross little boy 
and girl, they called out, "Stop pouting. Don't 
you know spring is here? Now is the time to 
laugh and be glad. Come and play." 



THE METHOD APPLIED 57 

"We don't want to play with you," pouted the 
cross little girl. 

Then a big girl who was leading the crowd called 

out, 

" Come and play 
With me today." 

"We don't want to play with you today," 
answered the cross boy. "We'll play with you 
tomorrow, perhaps." 

"No, no," laughed the big girl, 

" Come and play 
With me today." 

Then all the children shouted cheerily, 

" Come and play 
With me today." 

"Yes, yes," cried the little boy and girl at last, 
no longer cross. "We would not play with the 
robin today, we would not play with the squirrel 
today, but we will play with you." 

Then up they jumped and away they ran to 
play with the other children. 

2. Teach the rhyme. Pupils should be trained to 
repeat all rhymes with good expression, with exact 
enunciation and articulation. They should memo- 
rize them perfectly. Frequent repetition will ac- 
complish this; but the repetition should not be 



58 LEARNING TO READ 

a merely mechanical saying of the words over and 
over. At each repetition, the rhyme should be 
actually used in such a way that it expresses 
an appropriate thought. This can readily be 
brought about through the use of the story, which 
has already repeated the rhyme several times. 
After telling the story, the teacher talks with the 
pupils about it, asking such questions as these: 
What did the robin sing to the cross boy and girl-f^ 
What did the squirrel chatter.? What did the big 
girl call out? What did the crowd of children 
shout? 

In answer to these questions, the pupils give 
the rhyme. Very often these answers should be 
in concert. Thus all take full part, the stronger 
helping the slower. 

Again in dramatizing the story, the rhyme is 
repeated over and over. Thu^, when the story 
has been told, reproduced by questioning and 
dramatized, most pupils know the rhyme per- 
fectly. It should be kept fresh in their minds by 
daily repetition — repetition in which the rhyme 
is really used, not merely repeated. 
^ 3. Dramatizing the rhyme. The following manner 
of dramatizing this rhyme has been found very 
interesting. 

Two pupils are seated in the front of the room. 
The robin flies to them and asks them to play with 



THE METHOD APPLIED 59 

him in the words of the rhyme. The pupils 
refuse, using either the words in the story or their 
own words. Next the squirrel invites them to 
play, using the exact words of the rhyme. He, 
too, is refused and runs away. Then a group of 
pupils, as described in the story, run up and extend 
their invitation in the words of the rhyme. 

Note that the big girl will naturally emphasize 
with me in the first repetition of the rhyme, and 
today the second time she repeats it. When the 
two pupils finally accept the oft-times repeated 
invitation, they should jump up and run with the 
other children to their seats. 

The constant repetition of "with me" and "with 
you" makes the pupils familiar with the rather 
abstract word with. The insistence of the big girl 
that the children join her today brings out the 
meaning of this word. 

4. Picture study. Only a few of the illustrations 
in Chart, Primer, and Readers are definitely re- 
ferred to in this Manual. And these few are con- 
sidered only in a suggestive way. For the sake 
of concreteness, definite questions are here given 
in connection with certain typical pictures; but 
these questions are intended to suggest to the 
teacher only the character of the questions which 
may arise in the picture study. In the study of 
any given picture, the pupils studying it deter- 



60 LEARNING TO READ 

mine the questions to ask. Indeed, the pupils 
themselves, with guidance and suggestion, will 
ask most of the questions and answer them, too. 

All the pictures in chart and books are deserv- 
ing of careful study. They are an integral part of 
the stories, poems, and rhymes. Beautiful and 
attractive as the pictures are, their greatest value 
lies in the thought which they provoke. The page 
or half-page occupied by a picture may serve the 
child's advancement in thought and expression, 
hence in reading, more than the same space occu- 
pied by text. But that they may perform this 
service, the pictures must be used. To neglect 
the pictures is to neglect one of the most valuable 
features of subject-matter and of method. 

(Chart, page 2; Primer, p. 10.) Point to the 
big girl who is leading. What is she calling.? 
What is she going to play.'^ Tell what each child 
has to play with. Where do the pouting boy and 
girl live.? Can you see them? Why not? What 
will all the children call when they see the pouting 
boy and girl? 

5. Write the first line of the rhyme on the board. 

Come and play. 

Require the pupils to look at the board while 
they repeat this line. As they repeat, point out, 
that is, measure off, each word thus, — 



THE METHOD APPLIED j61 

Come and play 



or 

V 



Come / and / play. 

The pointer, crayon, or hands may be used to 
indicate the limits of each word. 

6. Individual work. Individual pupils, one after 
another, repeat the line on the board, pointing to 
each word as it is uttered. 

7. Teacher points to any word in the line and requires 
the pupil to tell what it is. If he cannot tell at once, 
he should be required to go back to the beginning 
of the line and to repeat it till he comes to the word 
he does not know. For example, suppose the 
teacher should point to the word and. The pupil 
does not know the word. So he begins at the be- 
ginning of the line and reads, "Come and — 
and'' In this exercise, let the pupil handle the 
pointer. 

A class exercise in pointing is helpful for concen- 
trated, rapid drill on words in this line and in all 
subsequent rhymes. The teacher directs, "All 
point to come, to 2:)lay, to a??^." The teacher 
touches the correct word each time, pronouncing 
it as she does so. The pupils point with the fore- 
finger to each word, following the direction .of the 
teacher, and pronouncing the word as they point. 



62 LEARNING TO READ 

The teacher then calls any word and requires a 
pupil to point to it. 

8. Write words of the line on the board in any order. 
Any pupil, as directed, gives each word as writ- 
ten. When a pupil does not recognize a word, 
he should find it in the line; if necessary, he 
should read the line from the beginning till he 
finds the required word. Pupils should be trained 
to turn at once to the line instead of the teacher, 
when they cannot recall a word. 

9. Drill with sight-word cards, (a) Place the cards 
containing the words in the line on the crayon 
shelf under the line written low on the board. 
The cards must be right side up and spread out 
so that each is visible. Pupils are required to 
choose any card, hold it under the word in the line 
which corresponds to the word on the card, and 
pronounce the word. Example: John chooses 
the card containing the word play and holds it 
under the word ylay in the line and says, "play." 
He then stands before the class, back to the 
board, holding in plain view the card which he 
has "won." (b) After all the cards have been 
thus won by the pupils, each in turn taking his 
place in front of the class and holding his card in 
front of him, the teacher writes a word on, the 
board, and asks the pupils who have no cards to 
look along the line of cards held by the pupils 



THE METHOD APPLIED 63 

in front, and to see who can find the card contain- 
ing the word written on the board. The pupil who 
finds it places it under the word written on the 
board by the teacher and pronounces it. This 
pupil then holds the card, while the boy who first 
held it joins the rest of the class and the game goes 
on. This work must be rapid or the best results 
are lost and much time wasted. (c) Words 
should be read at sight from cards as they are 
displayed rapidly by the teacher, who holds the 
pack of cards in front of her and takes one after 
another from the back of the pack and places it 
in front. As the teacher does this the pupils 
give each word, individually or in concert as 
required. 

The purpose of the above drills is to teach pupils 
to recognize words so quickly that as soon as sen- 
tences are placed before them they may be able 
to read each as a thought, not as a line of words. 
From the beginning, in all sentence work, the 
teacher must be sure that the pupil gets the thought 
and that he expresses it in his reading. 

10. Write the complete rhyme on the board. As 
soon as the three words in the first line of the 
rhyme are thoroughly learned by all the chil- 
dren, write the complete rhyme on the board. 
Apply to the whole rhyme the same drills (5, 6, 
7, 8, and 9 above) used with the first line. 



64 LEARNING TO READ 

11. Write sentences on the board using the words 
of the rhyme. (For sentences, see Primer, page 
11.) Drill especially on the phrase with me. 
These words belong together and must be pro- 
nounced together. 

From the word today teach the word to. Write 
the words on the board thus: 

today I 

to 

Use the word, to, in the phrase to me, for addi- 
tional phrase drill in new sentences. 

Do not accept word calling for thought reading 
even in the first sentences. 

The simplest of these sentences may be filled 
with meaning by connecting them with the thought 
of the teacher's story, "The Spring Story," For 
exainple, when the pupil has to read the sentences 
at the bottom of page 10, Primer, ask (pointing 
to the first of these sentences). How did the big 
girl say this.'* And this (pointing to the second 
sentence) ? 

12. Seat work. Materials: (a) A stiff manila 
card, 4X7 inches, ruled off to contain as many 
spaces as there are words in the rhyme. The 
spaces should be each If inches long by 1^ inches 
wide. Write the words of the rhyme in these 
spaces, making large letters, thus — 



THE METHOD APPLIED 



65 



Come 


and 


play 


With 


me 


today 



(h) A manila envelope — it is convenient to have 
it just large enough to hold the 4X7 card — con- 
taining a number of small cards. These cards 
should be 1| inches long by 1 inch wide. On 
each small card is written a word from the rhyme. 

There should be at least four duplicate cards for 
each word in the rhyme. 

Each pupil at his seat should be provided with a 
large card and an envelope of small cards. The 
exercise consists in the pupil's placing the small 
cards over the space on the large card, matching 
the words on the small cards with the words in 
the spaces. The pupil continues to do this until 
all his little cards are properly placed. As he 
places each card, he says softly to himself or thinks 
the word which it contains. 

With a hektograph the teacher can quickly make 
a set of large and small cards sufficient for the 
largest division of her class which will be having 
seat work at the same time. The small cards 
should be made in sheets and cut up. 

If a stout manila envelope of good quality is 
used, the face of it may be ruled off into spaces 



66 LEARNING TO READ 

and the words of the rhyme written therein; thus 
the large card may be dispensed with.^ 

13. Script and print. Pupils are best taught from 
the beginning to read both script and print with 
equal facility. This is an easy matter, if it is not 
made difficult. It is only necessary to use both 
script and print constantly. The first rhymes should 
be written on the blackboard, and read by the pupils 
from the board as well as from the cJiart. All 
the work which the teacher presents on the board, 
and that must be considerable even with the use 
of the Reading Chart, should be in script. The 
word cards contain both the printed and the writ- 
ten forms of each word for the purpose of making 
pupils equally familiar with both. 

14. Teacher should write, not print. The teacher 
should no more take the time to print words for 
the children, with the thought that the printed 
is easier for them than the written form, than she 
should teach them to print before writing words. 
One form is as easy as the other. Of course, the 
script put before the children should be very dis- 
tinct and plain, without unnecessary and confusing 
marks and flourishes. 

^ Sheets containing all the rliyme and sight words of the Primer, 
ready to cut np, may be procured at small cost from the publishers 
of the Aldine books. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE PRIMER, Pages 12-15; THE CHART., 
Pages 3-4 

Rhyme II 

Run with me 
To the tree. 

the run tree 

1. Tell the story, introducmg the rhjmie. 

The Race 

One bright sunny morning two little boys., 
Harry and George, were playing together. They 
had played marbles, tops, and hide-and-go-seek. 
Now they did not know what to play. 

"Let us play horse," said Harry. 

"Very well," answered George. "You be my 
horse." 

"No, you should be my horse," said Harry. 
"I named the game." 

But George would not be the horse. 

"Then I won't play," he said. "I think the 
one who runs faster should choose." 

67 



68 LEARNING TO READ 

"Very well," shouted Harry, 

" Run with me 
To the tree." 

"Good," cried George. 
The two boys stood side by side. 
"One, two, three," counted George. 
Away the two boys ran as fast as they could, 
shouting, 

" Run with me 
To the tree." 

Rover, the dog, jumped up from the grass and 
ran after the boys, barking loudly. He seemed 
to say, 

"Run with me 
To the tree." 

How fast they all ran and what a noise they 
made! And who do you think got to the tree 
first.? 

Neither Harry nor George. They got there 
together, but Rover reached the tree long before 
either of the boys. 

"Rover must choose a game," cried George. 
"He won." 

"Yes, Rover, what would you like to play.^*" 
asked Harry. 

Rover looked at the boys for a moment, then 
he ran barking toward another tree. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 09 

What do you think he was trying to say? 

(Pupils answer) 

" Run with me 
To the tree." 

2. Teach pupils the rhyme thoroughly. See Chapter 
III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the rh3niie. Let one pupil choose an- 
other pupil, saying, 

" Run with me 
To the tree." 

The two pupils then stand side by side at the 
back of the room while the pupils at their -seats 
count, "One, two, three!" The two pupils then 
run to the front of the room or to another pupil 
who may represent the tree. The pupil who wins 
chooses another pupil to run with him; or other 
two pupils may run. 

4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 5, 
6, 7, 8, 9. Write the complete rhyme on the board. 
In the simple drill with the word cards (See Chap- 
ter III, 9 (c)), all the cards from the beginning 
should be kept in the pack; the cards for the new 
words, as learned, being added. As the pack gets 
larger, the older w ords — those most perfectly 
known — may be removed, thus keeping the pack 
of moderate size, fifteen to twenty-five cards. The 



70 LEARNING TO READ 

cards removed, however, should be taken up from 
time to time for review, so that they may be kept 
entirely fresh in the pupils' minds. 

5. Drilling on phrases. The three phrases already 
learned, with me, to me, to the tree, should be used 
in drills to establish the habit of reading con- 
nected word-groups rather than single words. 
These phrases should be written or printed on 
large cards and these used, as sight-word cards 
are used, for quick sight reading.^ 

Phrase cards and sight-word cards should be 
used together, to make sentences, as follows. The 
teacher places a phrase card, for example, with 
me, on the chalk tray; after the phrase is correctly 
read, she places at the left of it the word card Run. 
Pupils read, "Run with me." Next she covers the 
card containing Run with the one on which is 
printed Play, and a pupil reads, "Play with me." 
Finally the word card, Come, is placed at the left 
of the phrase, and the pupils read, "Come with 
me." To be effective, this work should be quick, 
the teacher placing phrase and word cards rapidly, 
the pupils reading after a glance. 

Drill on other phrases in the same way. 

6. Picture study. (Chart, page 3; Primer, p. 12.) 
Name the boys in the picture, pointing to each. 

^ Word and phrase cards may be procured from the publishers 
of Aldine Readmg. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 71 

Which boy do you think is calling, "Run with me 
to the tree?" 

7. Write sentences on the board. Use the words 
of rhymes 1 and 2. For sentences see Primer, 
pages 13 and 14. 

8. Reading by doing. As an aid in securing intel- 
ligent thought reading, action sentences, marked 
"Something to Do," are introduced from time to 
time. The first group of these sentences is found 
on page 15 of the Primer. These sentences are to 
be written on the board, one at a time. The pupil 
reads the sentence silently and does what the sen- 
tence requires. After he has done it he should read 
the sentence aloud. To illustrate: when the pupil 
has read to himself the second sentence, he runs 
to the teacher; then he reads the sentence aloud. 

In the third sentence the pupil runs to a picture 
of a tree — one on blackboard, a picture brought 
into the room, or the picture on the chart. In 
the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth sentences, he 
runs to another pupil and invites him to "Run with 
me to the tree," "Play with me," "Run and play 
with me," "Come to the tree with me." 

9. Seat work. Make sets of cards for the second 
rhyme, and give exercise as directed in Chapter 
III, 12. 

10. Phonics. Teach the sounds of r and c as 
they are given in run and come. 



72 LEARNING TO READ 

Write run on the board, pronouncing distinctly 
r and un as they are written; separate these 
parts slightly, thus, r un. Let the pupils pro- 
nounce, the teacher pointing to each part of the 
word as the pupils pronounce it. Write r alone 
under the r in run; pupils pronounce r alone. 
Write r anywhere on the board, pupils pro- 
nouncing. 

Teach c in come in the same way. Write c and 
r on the board initil the pupils can give the sound 
of either instantly and correctly as soon as written. 
Write the capitals as well as the small letters. C 
will give no trouble; if R is difficult, analyze Run, 
and drill as with r. 

Have pupils find and sound these letters, c, 
C, r, R, in words on the board. 



CHAPTER V 

THE PRIMER, Pages 16-21; THE CHART, 
Pages 5-6 

Rhyme III 

Boys and girls, come and play. 
Jump and run with me today. 

boys girls jnmp 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rhjrme. 

The Jolly Organ-grinder 

One day a jolly organ-grinder came marching* 
down the street. His organ was slung over his 
shoulder. On his head was a bright red cap. He 
led a funny monkey by a long string. The monkey 
wore a red cap, too. 

Organ-grinder and monkey stopped before a 
large house. The man began to grind his organ 
and to sing. This is what he sang, 

"Boys and girls, come and play. 
Jump and run with me today." 

The monkey scampered in at the doorways; he 
climbed up to the windows. He beckoned with 
his hands, as though he would say, 

73, 



74 LEARNING TO READ 

"Boys and girls, come and play. 
Jump and run with me today." 

Out ran the boys; out ran the girls. How they 
skipped! How they jumped! They danced round 
and round the organ-grinder as he went on down 
the street. They sang with him, 

"Boys and girls, come and play. 
Jump and run with me today." 

Soon they came in front of a schoolhouse. The 
door stood wide open. The school children saw 
the monkey and the organ-grinder. They saw the 
boys and girls dancing and heard them singing, 

"Boys and girls, come and play. 
Jump and run with me today." 

How the school children longed to jump from 
their seats and rush out! They could hardly sit 
still. 

Just then the teacher tapped her bell and said, 
"Time for recess! You may all run out and 
play." 

Out bounded every boy and girl. How they 
jumped and shouted! Down the street they ran, 
chasing the monkey and the organ-grinder. All 
sang, 

"Boys and girls, come and play. 
Jump and run with me today." 



THE METHOD APPLIED 75 

2. Teach pupils the rhyme. Every one must 
memorize it perfectly. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the rh)ane. Choose a leader. The 
leader chooses a number of pupils — the whole 
class if desired — saying, 

"Boys and girls, come and play. 
Jump and run with me today." 

The leader marches around the room, the other 
pupils following him. All do just what the leader 
does — clap hands, wave hands, hands on shoul- 
ders, hands on head, hands on hips, march on toes, 
run, skip, jump, take chairs, etc. 

4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 5, 
6, 7, 8, 9; also Chapter IV, 4. 

Before giving the sentences following a new 
rhyme, it is well to drill on groups of words in the 
rhyme itself. For example, in the rhyme, 

"Boys and girls, come and play, 
Jump and run with me today." 

the teacher indicates with the pointer the group 
of words which the pupils are to read, as, 

Boys and girls 
Jump and run 
girls, come and play 
Come and play. 

The teacher draws the pointer quickly under these 
groups of words and the pupils read quickly 



76 LEARNING TO READ 

and smoothly. This exercise helps pupils to form 
the habit of reading words together smoothly in 
phrases, and counteracts the tendency to form the 
habit of reading slowly and jerkily, word by word. 

5. Use phrase cards. Use phrase cards as sug- 
gested in Chapter IV, 5. By using the sight- word 
cards of the three new words — hoys, girls, jump 
— learned in Rhyme III, the number of sentences 
that can be made with a phrase as the base is 
much enlarged. 

These groups of words, Boys and girls. Girls 
and boys, should also be written or printed on 
large cards and used like sight-word cards in build- 
ing up sentences based on phrases. 

With the phrase, to the tree, as a base, the follow- 
ing sentences may be formed by the addition of the 
proper sight-word cards. 

Come to the tree. 
Run to the tree. 
Jump to the tree. 

Then each of these sentences may be extended 
by adding other words, for example, as follows. 

Boys, come to the tree. 

Boys and girls, come to the tree. 

Come to the tree, girls. 

Come to the tree, girls and boys. 

Give much quick drill of this kind, using all 
phrases and words learned in all possible combina- 



THE METHOD APPLIED 77 

tions. Get the pupils into the habit of reading 
phrases and groups of words that belong together 
as units, making pauses between words and phrases 
where the sense requires. 

6. Picture study. (Chart, page 5; Primer, p. 16.) 
Did you ever see the picture of any of these chil- 
dren before.^ Which ones.'^ Where .^^ How do you 
know they are the same children? What is the 
organ man singing .^^ Why does he want the chil- 
dren to follow him.^ Wliat has the monkey in his 
hand.'^ What does the little girl think he is going 
to do with the cup.'* Is she afraid .f* Do you think 
the monkey thinks Teddy Bear is another monkey? 
Look at the organ man's face; see how he is 
dressed. Is he an American? Where do the organ 
men you have seen come from? 

See Chapter III, 4. 

7. Sentences to be read from the board. Write on 
the board sentences as found in the Primer, pages 
17-20. Have these read by the pupils. 

8. Reading by doing. See Chapter IV, 8. 
Many of the above sentences may be used as 

action sentences, as well as those on page 21 of 
the Primer, which should also be written on the 
board. 

9. The Reading Chart. It is now time to begin 
reading print from the Reading Chart. The pas- 
sage from script to print will be easily made by 



78 LEARNING TO READ 

the pupils as they are ah-eady somewhat famlHar 
with the printed forms from the use of the word 
cards. The reading from the chart should begin 
at the very beginning, with the first rhyme. As 
there are no sentences on the chart which have 
not already been read on the board, the pupils 
will quickly reach on the chart the point reached 
in their board work. From this time on reading 
from the chart should accompany the reading 
from the board, the latter being used rather to 
supplement the former. As pupils advance, read- 
ing from the board should give place more and 
more to reading from the chart. Reviews, which 
should be daily, should be read almost wholly 
from the chart. If no chart is used, reading 
should be done entirely from the board for the 
present. 

It is considered advisable- to start pupils with 
script, but to take up print almost from the 
beginning, as here directed, and then to carry on 
the use of both forms together. Those teachers, 
however, who prefer to use only print at first, 
will find the chart of great service, saving much 
board work, and will naturally use it from the 
beginning. 

10. Seat work, (a) See Chapter III, 12. On 
account of the length of the third rhyme the 
large cards and the envelopes should be 4X9, 



THE METHOD APPLIED 79 

instead of 4X7, and the spaces and the small 
cards should be shorter than heretofore. 

(b) Children arrange small cards in columns on 
the desk, placing all like words in the same column, 
as: 



Boys 


Girls 


Boys 


girls 


boys 


girls 



11. Phonics. Teach sound of j in jump. See 
Chapter IV, 9. Begin drill with the phonic 
cards. Only three can be used at this time, the 
j, c, and r cards. These three make the beginning 
of a pack, however, which will constantly grow 
larger as each new consonant is 'learned and its 
card added to the pack. Daily drills — they 
need be only brief — should be given with this 
growing pack of consonant cards. There should 
also be daily practice in finding and sounding the 
consonants known in any words on the board or 
cliart. Thus the pupils learn to associate in- 
stantly the proper sound with each consonant 
wherever seen, an invaluable habit a little later 
when they are mastering words phonetically. 

The teacher should be very careful that every 
pupil gets the correct sound of each consonant at 
the outset. Drilling incorrect sounds only pre- 
pares trouble for the future. 



80 LEARNING TO READ 

12. Ear-training in consonant sounds. As fast as 
the single consonant sounds are taught give exer- 
cises in ear-training, as follows: 

1. Repeat a number of words beginning with 
the same sound, pausing after each word long 
enough to have the pupil give the sound; as: 

Teacher says: Pupil says: 

run r 

ran r 

ring r 

robin r 

2. Repeat a list of words beginning with the 
same sound. Have pupils listen and at the end 
of the list tell with what sound each word began; 
as: 

Teacher: Come, can, candy, cake, cookie. 
The pupil answers with the sound of C. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE PRIMER, Pages 22-24; THE CHART, 
Pages 7-8 

Rhyme IV 

Rain, rain, go away. 

Boys and girls want to play, 

rain go want away 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
Tom Tucker's Song 

The boys and girls in Miss White's class were 
going to have a picnic — that is, if the next Satur- 
day should be clear and sunny. 

"For, children," said Miss White, "we cannot 
go into the woods if it rains. And I hope it will 
not rain on Friday either; for if it should, the grass 
will be so wet, it will not be safe to go into the 
woods on Saturday." 

How the children did wish for two clear days, 
Friday and Saturday. At recess they all gathered 
in the school yard to talk it over. 

"If it is going to rain at all this week," said 
Jack Horner, "I wish it would hurry and rain 

81 



82 LEARNING TO READ 

Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, and use up 
all the water in the clouds before Friday." 

"Rain, rain, go away, 
Boys and girls want to play," 

sang Tom Tucker, a big boy in one of the "upstairs 

classes," who heard what Jack Horner said. 

"Yes, we do want to play, don't we, boys and 

girls.'^" asked Jack. 

"Yes, yes, yeo!" cried all the children 

"Well, then," said Tom, "why don't you sing 

my little song, 

'Rain, rain, go away. 
Boys and girls want to play'.-^ 

If you sing that song often enough, it will frighten 
away the rain." 

"Will it really, Tom.'*" asked a tiny girl. 

"So I have been told," answered Tom. "I 
never tried it." 

"Let us try it," said Simon Simple. "Teach 
it to us, Tom." 

"All right," said Tom. "Every one say it — 

'Rain, rain, go away, 
Boys and girls want to play.' 

Now say it again — 

'Rain, rain, go away, 
Boys and girls want to play.' " 



THE METHOD APPLIED 83 

Tom soon taught them the song, and Miss 
White's children gathered together under the old 
apple tree in the school yard and sang it over and 
over, 

"Rain, rain, go away. 
Boys and girls want to play." 

Every recess time on Monday, Tuesday, Wednes- 
day, and Thursday, the children in Miss White's 
class gathered under the apple tree and sang the 
little song, and not a drop of rain fell! They 
began to think they really had frightened the 
rain away. But on Friday morning — we shall 
hear soon what happened then. Can you guess .'^ 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story. Have a group of pupils 
(Miss White's class) gathered in a corner of the 
room. One pupil tells excitedly that there is 
to be a picnic on Saturday. Another qualifies 
this statement by repeating the substance of 
what Miss Wh'te said about the rain. Other 
pupils, representing Tom Tucker, Simon Simple, 
Jack Horner, and Tiny Little Girl, carry on the 
conversation of the story. 

4. Drill on the written rhyme. 

6. A good rapid word drill. The teacher places a 
list of new sight words, or old words needing more 
drill, on the board. She then covers one pupil's 
eyes with her hands. While this pupil's eyes are 



84 LEARNING TO READ 

covered, a second pupil points to a word on the 
board. For example, the list may be — 

Come 

away 

go 

boys 

girls 

Suppose the second pupil points to girls. The 
first pupil's eyes are uncovered and he is given a 
pointer. He points to the word and asks, "Is 
it come?'' The other pupils answer, "No, it is 
not come.'' "Is it away?" "No, it is not away." 
"Is it go?" "No, it is not go." "Is it girls?" 
"Yes," the class answers, "it is girls." Another 
pupil is blindfolded, another word is chosen, and 
the game continues. 

For variety this game may be played with the 
word cards, (a) Place cards containing new words 
on the blackboard ledge or some other place in 
plain view. While one pupil has his eyes covered, 
have another pupil touch a card. Then the pupil 
whose eyes were covered tries to name the correct 
word as before. Change the order of cards fre- 
quently so that the pupils may not learn words 
from the position of the cards, {b) The teacher 
handles the cards. One pupil turns his back to 
the teacher. The teacher then holds up a card so 
that the other pupils can see it. The card is then 



THE METHOD APPLIED 85 

placed with the other cards — hidden away — and 
the pupil is directed to face the teacher. As the 
teacher holds the cards, one at a time, before this 
pupil, the pupil asks the other pupils, " Is it hoy? " 
etc. They answer as in the first form of the game. 
The teacher must insist on the pupil naming the 
word to which he points — "Is it — girlF " And 
the other pupils must name the word in their 
answer — " Yes, it is girl." This repeated asso- 
ciation of the spoken word with its written form 
soon results in binding the two together indis- 
solubly in the pupil's mind. 

6. Phrase-card drills. Add to the phrase cards 
already made, these two, go away, and in the rain, 
and use as suggested in Chapter V, 5. 

7. Picture study. (Chart, page 7; Primer, p. 22.) 
Which child is Simon Simple.^ Jack Horner.'* The 
tiny little girl.f* What are they singing .f* 

8. Sentences to be read from the board. For sen- 
tences, see Primer, pages 23 and 24. 

9. Seat work. See Chapter III, 11, and Chapter 
V, 10. With the small cards in the envelope, 
pupils make the rhyme on their desks, copying 
from the large card. 

10. Phonics. Teach b in hoy and g in girl. 

11. Ear-training. The teacher says, " I'm going 
to say some words beginning with h (or any sound 
already taught) and one word beginning with a 



86 LEARNING TO READ 

different sound. When I speak the word beginning 
with a different sound, let me know." 

Teacher: Boy, book, bat, ball, sing. 

Pupils indicate in some way — rising, raising 
hand, saying " no," — that sing begins with a 
different sound from the words preceding it. 

Teacher: What word didn't begin with b? 

If pupils have studied the sound of s, the teacher 
then asks, " With what sound does sing begin .f* " 



CHAPTER VII 

THE PRIMER, Pages 25-30; THE CHART, 
Pages 9-10 

Rhyme V 

Rain, rain, go away. 

Come again some other day. 

again other some 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
How Jack Horner Sang the Rain Away 

You remember the story about the children in 
Miss White's class who were going on a picnic, 
do you not? You remember the little rhyme they 
sang on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thurs- 
day .^^ And not a drop of rain fell on those days. 
But on Friday morning. Jack Horner jumped out 
of bed and ran to the window, and — oh, dear! 
how can I tell you! — the rain had come at last; 
not in a few little drops that pattered against the 
window-panes, but in torrents. It just poured! 

"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" cried Jack. "What- 
ever shall we do? The woods will be wet and we 
can't have our picnic! Oh, dear, dear, dear!" 

87 



88 LEARNING TO READ 

"Don't cry," said Mother, "perhaps it will be 
all over by noontime. I think it will. Just be 
happy and sing, 

'Rain, rain, go away, 
Come again some other day.' " 

"Oh, Mother, don't sing that," said Jack. "If 
you do, the rain might go away now and come 
back tomorrow, and that would be worse." 

At nine o'clock it still rained so hard that Jack 
could not go to school, for he was a very little 
boy and the school was a long way from his home. 

Poor little Jack! He could hardly keep the tears 
from rolling down his cheeks just as the raindrops 
rolled down the window pane. 

"It's bad enough to have it rain and spoil the 
picnic," he cried, "but it's worse to have it rain 
today and keep me home from school, too." 

He stood at the window, looking out at the rain, 
and before he knew it, he found himself singing 
softly — 

"Rain, rain, go away. 
Come again some other day." 



As Jack watched, the sky seemed brighter. And 
he sang louder and more cheerfully — 

"Rain, rain, go away. 
Come again some other day." 



THE METHOD APPLIED 89 

Over and over again he sang it — 

"Rain, rain, go away. 
Come again some other day." 

Soon the sun really began to shine through the 
rain. The rain stopped and a beautiful rainbow 
shone in the sky. 

Jack clapped his hands. "Oh, Mother!" he 
cried, "just look at that rainbow! It chased away 
the rain just as though it sang — 

"Rain, rain, go away. 
Come again some other day." 

"Yes," answered Mother. "The rain is over. 
You may go to school this afternoon. This bright, 
warm sun will soon dry the grass, and I think you 
will be able to have your picnic tomorrow." 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story. Choose a boy for little 
Jack Horner. He may look out of the window 
and tell how grieved he is because it rains. An- 
other child may be the mother, and cheer Jack 
up by teaching him the rhyme. Jack repeats the 
rhyme, looking out of the window. Soon he turns 
from the window and says, "The sky is getting 
brighter. Oh, see that rainbow. Mother. The 
rain is over. May I go to school this afternoon.?" 
The mother answers as in the story. 



90 LEARNING TO READ 

In dramatizing, pupils should not be required 
or even encouraged to use the words of the story. 
Original, fluent expression that conveys the thought 
should be cultivated. 

4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 5, 
6, 7, 8, 9; Chapter IV, 4, and Chapter VI, 5 and 6. 

5. Picture study. Chart, page 9; Primer, p. 25. 
What is the little boy's name.^ What time of 
day is it.^ How do you know? (Child in night 
clothes.) 

Why did Jack Horner get up so early and run 
to the window.^ Why is he crying? What song 
should he sing? See Chapter III, 4. 

6. Sentences to be read from the board. See sen- 
tences in Primer, pages 26-29. 

7. Reading by doing. See Chapter IV, 8. For 
sentences, see Primer, p. 30. 

8. The Primer. Those teachers who are not using 
the Reading Chart may profitably begin the use 
of the Primer at about this point. The transition 
from the board to the book will not be difficult, 
as the pupils are already familiar, through the use 
of the sight-word cards, with the printed forms of 
the words. They should begin to read the book 
from the beginning. They will, thus, quickly re- 
view all that they have read from the board. 
From now on, reading from the board will rapidly 
give way to reading from the book. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 91 

9. Seat work. See Chapter III, 12; Chapter V, 
10, and Chapter VI, 9. 

Very soon after pupils begin to read in class 
from the Primer they should begin to have study 
periods for reading at their seats certain stories or 
assigned groups of sentences in the book. The 
sentences thus read at the seats will, of course, be 
read aloud in class. 

That pupils may quickly learn to study their 
lessons independently at their seats, they should 
be taught to refer to the rhymes which they have 
memorized to find words which they do not recog- 
nize in the text. The pupils' rhyme cards (see p. 11) 
are especially suited to such reference. The first 
lessons in this seat study should be carefully super- 
vised. 

10. Phonics. Teach the sound of d in day. See 
Chapter IV, 10, and Chapter V, 11. 

Require pupils to give words beginning with 
sounds already studied. The words given may or 
may not be words studied by the pupils in class. 
For example, should the teacher call for words 
beginning with the sound of d, the pupils may 
give, indeed often do give, such words as day^ 
die, door, dog, dish, doll, dark, daisy, dinner, dirt. 
In giving the words, pupils slightly exaggerate the 
sound of the first letter. 

Interest is often aroused by letting these sound 



9^ LEARNING TO READ 

drills take the form of games, as follows : A pupil 
passes around the room touching any number of 
objects. Instead of naming them he gives the 
sound with which the name begins; as, touching 
the board, he gives the sound of b, touching 
the desk, he gives the sound of d. As soon as the 
pupil makes a mistake he takes his seat and the 
child who gives the correct sound takes the first 
pupil's place. For concert work the teacher may 
point to the objects and pupils give the sounds. 

Similar drills may be given with lists of words on 
the board or with the words on a page of the read- 
ing chart. But in the drill with written or printed 
words the pupil should give not only the first sound, 
but also the word as a whole. For example, with 
the w^ords girl and come: the pupil should first 
point to the letter g, sound it, and then pronounce 
the word girl; point to c, sound it, and then pro- 
nounce the w^ord come. Of course all this work 
should include only words studied by the pupils. 

II. Learning letters by name. From this point 
on, letters should be referred to incidentally by 
name, as a matter of convenience. Children will 
thus soon learn the letter names incidentally. This 
is a matter of no slight importance, for it Is the 
sounds, and not the names of letters, that should 
receive the child's direct attention. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE PRIMER, Pages 31-39; THE CHART, 
Pages 11-13 

Rhyme VI 

Sing, happy children. 

Sing and play. 
Sing, happy children, 

"No rain today!" 

no children happy sing 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rh5mie. 
Miss White's Picnic 

Would you like to hear about Miss White's 
picnic? 

On Saturday morning the sun was shining as 
though it had never hidden behind the big, dark 
rain clouds. At nine o'clock the children gathered 
at the schoolhouse. Each child carried a box or 
a basket of lunch. I wish I had time to tell 
you all the good things these boxes and baskets 
held. 

Jack Horner said he had a Christmas pie for 
his lunch. 

S3 



94 LEARNING TO READ 

Simon Simple said, "I have for my lunch the 
whale that I caught in my mother's pail." 

The children all laughed and each tried to 
think of something funny to say he had for 
lunch. 

But now a big wagon drove up to the door, and 
the children rushed out and climbed into it and 
away they drove. 

"Let us sing something," said one little boy. 

"Shall we sing, 'Rain, rain, go away.^*'" asked 
Simon Simple. 

"No," said Miss White, "let us sing this — 

Sing, happy children. 

Sing and play. 
Sing, happy children, 

'No rain today!'" 

"Good, good!" shouted the children. So they 
quickly learned the little rhyme and sang merrily 

all the way — 

"Sing, happy children. 
Sing and play. 
Sing, happy children, 
'No rain today!'" 

Soon they reached the grove where the picnic 
was to be held. 

Swings had been put up under the trees. The 
children rushed to them. Up, up, up they flew 



THE METHOD APPLIED 95 

almost to the branches! As they swung they 
sang their new song, 

"Sing, happy children. 
Sing and play. 
Smg, happy children, 
'No rain today!'" 

All day long they played games, ran races, and 
ate lunches. At last, tired but very happy, they 
sat down under the trees to rest. But not one was 
too tired to join in singing the new song — 

" Sing, happy children. 
Sing and play. 
Sing, happy children, 
'No rain today!'" 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. The 
teacher may play that she is Miss White; her 
pupils may be Miss White's children sitting in the 
wagon on the way to the picnic. 

3. Drill on the written rhjnne. See Chapter III, 
5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Chapter IV, 4, and Chapter VI, 5 
and 6. 

All rhymes should be kept on the blackboard, 
or on separate charts, low enough for pupils to 
reach them. These rhymes are to be used by the 
pupil as an aid in finding for himself, at any time, 
any word he may have forgotten. For example, 
a pupil, in reading from board or chart, comes to 



96 LEARNING TO READ 

the word with, which he does not recognize. In- 
stead of telHng him the word, the teacher says, 
"Find it in Rhyme II." The teacher then goes on 
with her recitation, leaving the pupil to find the 
word for himself. He walks over to Rhyme II 
and reads until he finds the word with. Then he 
joins the class and reads the sentence. Too much 
emphasis cannot be put upon the importance of 
training the pupil to work thus independently. 

The following device for reviewing words is 
worth using occasionally. Give each pupil a card 
(one of the large word cards) containing a word 
already taught. Each pupil runs to the "reference 
rhymes" with his card and places it under the same 
word in a rhyme. The teacher passes quickly from 
pupil to pupil, collecting the cards as the words 
are pronounced correctly. If a pupil cannot read 
his word, he is directed to repeat the rhyme till 
he comes to the right word. 

4. Picture study. (Chart, page 11; Primer, page 
31.) For what are the children waiting.'^ Which 
child do you think will see the wagon first .f^ Show 
me Jack Horner. The tiny little girl. Simon 
Simple. What have the children in the boxes, 
pails, and baskets.^ What did Jack Horner bring 
for his lunch? What did Simon Simple bring .^ 
Do you think Miss White and the other children 
will come in the wagon? Do the children look 



THE METHOD APPLIED 97 

glad because the rain is over? What song will 
they sing? 

5. Reading from the board. For sentences, see 
Primer, pages o'^Z-So. 

6. Drill on the regular singular and plural forms of 
nouns and verbs. See Primer, page 36. After this 
exercise use either form without any formal drill. 

7. Phrasing for emphasis. For this exercise, see 
Primer, page 37. The teacher asks the question 
given in the book, before each pupil reads. She 
may add the name to make the exercise more 
personal. Thus, — 

Teacher: What do you want to do, John? 
John: I want to play. 

Teacher: What do you want to do, Jessie? 
Jessie: I want to run. 

8. Adding ing to verbs. See the Primer, page 38. 
Always insist on clear enunciation of the final syl- 
lable, iu(/, wherever it occurs. 

9. Seat work. See Chapter III, 11, Chapter V, 
10, and Chapter VI, 9. With small cards pupils 
reconstruct the rhyme on their desks, following 
the printed copy on the chart. 

10. Phonics. Teach the sound of s in si?ig. 
See Chapter IV, 9; Chapter V, 11, and Chapter 
VII, 10. 

11. Ear-training games. 1. The teacher has a 



08 LEARNING TO READ 

number of objects on her desk in plain sight of 
pupils. 

Teacher: I have something on my desk that begins 
with b (sounds b). 

Tom: Is it book? 

Teacher: No. 

Mary: Is it top? 

Teacher or Pupil: Top does not begin with b. (After 
the right object has been guessed, Mary is told or tells 
herself with what sound top does begin.) 

Jack: It is box? 

Teacher: No. 

Will: It is ball? 

Teacher: Yes. 

2. A pupil (instead of the teacher) may select 
an object; the other pupils guess the object. 

3. The teacher touches an object and individual 
pupils give the initial sound of its name. For 
example: The teacher touches a top, a child gives 
the sound of t. 

4. The teacher gives the sound of the initial 
letter of a word, a pupil touches an object, the 
name of wdiicli begins with that letter. For ex- 
ample: The teacher sounds d, a pupil touches a 
doll, saying the word doll. 

5. The teacher pronounces a sound a certain 
number of times, a pupil finds the same number 
of objects with names that begin with the sound. 
For example: 



THE METHOD APPLIED 99 

Teacher: h, b, b. The pupil points to book, bell, box, 
pronouncing each name clearly. 

In all this work the teacher should slightly stress 
the consonant sounds. 

Treat in similar ways consonant blends, as: 
bl, br, gr, wh, etc. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE PRIMER, Pages 40-i6; THE CHART, 
Pages 14-15 

Rhyme VII 

Little bluebird in the tree. 
Sing a song to me. 

blue bird a song little 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rh5mie. 
The Bluebird 

Miss White's children, who went on the picnic, 
were so happy they sang all the songs they knew. 
These are the songs they sang. Let us say them 
together. 

Come and play 

With me today. 

Run with me 
To the tree. 

Boys and girls, come and play. 
Jump and run with me today. 

Rain, rain, go away. 
Boys and girls want to play. 
100 



THE METHOD APPLIED 101 

Rain, rain, go away, 

Come again some other day. 

Sing, happy children, 

Sing and play. 
Sing, happy children, 

"No rain today!" 

When they had sung all their songs over and 
over, little Jack Horner cried out, "See that little 
bluebird in the tree! Why doesn't he sing?" 

"Perhaps he is only waiting to be asked," an- 
swered Simon Simple. 

"Let us ask him," said Miss White. And she 
called to the little bird, 

"Little bluebird in the tree. 
Sing a song to me." 

The little bird sat still and made no sound. Miss 
White called again, 

"Little bluebird in the tree. 
Sing a song to me." 

Still the little bird was silent. 

"Perhaps if we all ask him together, he will 
sing to us," said Simon Simple. 

"Perhaps he will," said Miss White. "Let us 
try it. All say with me, 

'Little bluebird in the tree. 
Sing a song to me. 



102 LEARNING TO READ 

Miss White and the children said over and over, 

"Little bluebird in the tree, 
Sing a song to me," 

But little bluebird did nothing more than hop 
about from branch to branch and look at them. 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story. Pupils represent Bluebird, 
Jack Horner, Simon Simple, and Miss White. 
Follow the main events of the story, somewhat as 
follows : 

(Pupil on chair for Bluebird.) 

Jack Horner. — See that dear little bluebird ! Why does 
he not sing? 

Simon Simple. — Maybe because no one has asked him. 
3Iiss White. — I will ask him. 

Little bluebird in the tree. 
Sing a song to me. 

(Bluebird hops about, but does not sing.) 

Miss White. — I will ask him again. (Repeats the 
rhyme.) 

Simon Simple. — Perhaps if we all ask together, he 
will sing to us. 

Miss White. — Perhaps he will. Let us try it. 

All. — (Repeat rhyme.) 

Jack Horner. — Let us try once more. 

All. — (Rhyme.) 

(Bluebird flies away; that is, the pupil flies to his seat.) 

Simon Simple. — There, he has flown away. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 103 

4. Drill on the written rhjone. See Chapter III, 5, 
6, 7, 8, 9; Chapter IV, 4; Chapter VI, 5 and 6, 
and Chapter VIII, 3. 

5. Picture study. (Chart, page 14; Primer, p. 
40.) At what is Jack Horner pointing.'^ What 
does he want Bluebird to do.?* What song did Miss 
White teach the children to sing to Bluebird .^^ See 
Chapter III, 4. 

6. Reading from the board. Select sentences from 
the Primer, pages 41-43. 

7. Dialogue. See Primer, pages 44, 45. Two pu- 
pils, a boy and a girl, may read this dialogue; or 
it may be read by twelve pupils, six girls and 
six boys. In the latter case, let the pupils stand 
in two lines, six girls facing six boys; then let them 
read the sentences in order, first a boy and then a 
girl, without calling on each pupil. 

8. Silent reading. See Primer, page 46. Pupils 
read each sentence silently, then answer aloud. 
Thus, to the first question. Who wants to run with 
me.^ the pupil may answer — A little boy wants 
to run with me. The fifth question. Who wants to 
sing.? may be answered, I want to sing, or, A 
little girl wants to sing. 

Sometimes the teacher allows the pupil to run 
to her and whisper the answers to the questions. 
Then she writes them on the board, each answer 
under the question to which it belongs. When this 



104 LEARNING TO READ 

written exercise is finished, the questions and 
answers make a good dialogue that may be read 
by two pupils, one reading the questions, the other 
the answers. 

9. The Primer. Those teachers who are using 
both the Reading Chart and the Primer should 
have the pupils begin reading from the latter at 
about this point. It will be well to let them 
read the book from the beginning, thus reviewing 
at first the work they have had from the chart 
and the board. 

10. Seat work. See Chapter III, n ; Chapter V, 
10; Chapter VI, 9, and Chapter VIII, 9. 

As soon as books are placed in pupils' hands, 
they should begin to read from them to themselves, 
at their seats. This is one of the most profitable 
kinds of seat work. In reading for themselves 
they are getting the best kind of training in inde- 
pendent work, in applying what they have already 
learned. If, at first, they are given something to 
read from the Primer which they have already 
read from the chart and board, the demand on 
their powers will not be too great. As they be- 
come accustomed to the use of the book, they will 
be able to undertake advance work successfully. 
Reference to the rhymes which they have memo- 
rized — a habit which the pupils should have well 
established by this time — will enable them really 



THE METHOD APPLIED 105 

to read the stories which contain only such words 
as have already been used in rhymes. The pupils' 
growing knowledge of phonics will enable them 
gradually — if properly applied — to read far be- 
yond the power afforded by their vocabulary of 
"rhyme" words. 

The pupil experiences a peculiar and keen de- 
light in his power to read independently. Once 
let him become conscious of that power, and his 
problem of learning how to read is essentially 
solved. Give him the opportunity and he will 
learn to read by reading. All the help that the 
teacher can afford will be doubly helpful because 
the pupil knows how to use the assistance given. 

Because the beginning of independent reading 
at the earliest possible moment is of such impor- 
tance, not only as an accomplishment in itself, 
but especially as the most effective means of sure 
and rapid advancement in the art, it should be 
given every care and encouragement. What a 
pupil has read to himself, he should read afterward 
in class, or, often better, to the teacher alone. Let 
the teacher encourage that feeling of wholesome 
pride which the pupil naturally experiences when 
he has done something all by himself. 

11. Phonics. Teach the sound of / in little and 
of m in me. See Chapter IV, 10; Chapter V, 11, 
and Chapter VII, 10. 



CHAPTER X 

THE PRIMER, Pages 47-50; THE CHART, 
Pages 16-17 

Rhyme VIII 

Bluebird, come to me and sing. 
Sing and tell me it is spring. 

tell spring it is 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
The Bluebird's Song 

"Miss White," said Simon Simple, "Miss 
White, I think I know why bluebird does not 
sing to us." 

"Why is it, Simon.?" asked Miss White. 

"Because he doesn't know what to sing; he 
doesn't know what to say," answered Simon 
Simple. 

"Of course the bluebird knows what to sing. 
All birds have songs that they know," cried Jack 
Horner. 

"But we didn't know what to sing until Miss 
White taught us," said Simon Simple. "Miss 
White taught us every song we know. Do you 

106 



THE METHOD APPLIED 107 

think a little bluebird knows more than boys and 
girls?" 

"Maybe Simon is right," said Miss White. 
"Anyway, it will do no harm to try to teach the 
little bird. Come, bluebird, come. We'll tell you 
what to sing about." 

Little bluebird seemed to be not one bit afraid, 
for he flew right down among the children and 
lighted on a stump. 

"Come, children," said Miss White, "let's tell 
bluebird what to sing. 

Bluebird, come to me and sing, 
Sing and tell me it is spring. 

Now all sing it with me." 

All the children joined hands and made a big 
circle about bluebird, and they sang over and over, 

"Bluebird, come to me and sing. 
Sing and tell me it is spring." 

At last little bluebird sang, oh, so sweetly. 
He sang about the spring; he sang about the 
birds and flowers. It was such glad news. 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story, following main events as 
in the last dramatization (Chapter IX, 3). 

4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 5, 
6, 7, 8, 9; Chapter IV, 4; Chapter VI, 5 and 6, and 
Chapter VIII, 3. 



108 LEARNING TO READ 

5. Another word drill. Place a card containing a 
word on each pupil's desk, the word side turned 
down. The teacher directs, "Turn cards," fol- 
lowing this order immediately with — "Bring me 
play, go, come, other, tell," etc. The pupil having 
the card containing the word called by the teacher 
runs with it to her. The game is continued until 
all the cards are collected. If a pupil does not 
know his word, he goes at once to the reference 
rhyme containing it and finds it for himself. 

6. Picture study. (Chart, page 16; Primer, p. 47.) 
What did the children sing to bluebird.'* Is blue- 
bird singing to the children? Why does Simon 
Simple hold up his finger.^ Are the other children 
listening to bluebird's song.^* What does bluebird 
tell the children. f* See Chapter III, 4. 

7. Reading from the board. See sentences in the 
Primer, pages 48 and 49. 

8. Dialogue. The sentences on page 50 of the 
Primer are to be read either by two or by fourteen 
pupils. See Chapter IX, 7. 

9. Seat work. See Chapter III, 12; Chapter V, 
10; Chapter VI, 9; Chapter VIII, 9, and Chapter 
IX, 10. 

Reconstruct the rhyme from memory, using 
small cards in the envelopes. 

All these forms of seat work with word cards 
are good, but it is not necessary or advisable to 



THE METHOD APPLIED 109 

give all forms with each rhyme. Such forms 
should be chosen as will tend to continuous prog- 
ress in neatness, difficulty, and independence on 
the part of the child. 

10. Phonics. Teach the sound of t in tell. See 
Chapter IV, 10; Chapter V, 10, and Chapter VII, 
10. 

The pupil should have drill on the initial con- 
sonant sound in five ways. (1) He should have 
drill on the first analysis of the word containing 
the new sound, as shown on phonetic cards. (2) 
He should be required to find the letter and sound 
in words on chart and board. (3) He should be 
able to distinguish the sound in words repeated to 
him. (4) He should be able to give a list of words 
beginning with a required sound. As already 
stated, these words need not be limited to words 
he has learned to read. (5) He should be able to 
tell the sound of the consonant instantly when he 
sees it written alone. 

It is now time to begin teaching blends of simple 
consonant sounds already learned. Use conso- 
nant blend cards from the set of Phonic Cards. 
Teach hi in blue. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE PRIMER, Pages 51-55; THE CHART, 
Pages 18-19 

Rhyme IX 

What glad news the bluebirds bring, 
Smging, singmg, "It is spring!" 

glad news bring 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 

The Glad News 

One morning Grandfather laid down his paper, 
took off his glasses, and said, as he put them into 
his pocket, "Dear me! There is no good news in 
my paper today." 

Just then the postman rang the bell. Jack ran 
to the door and soon came back with a letter for 
Mother. 

"It is from Father, Jack," she said. "Let us 
see what news he tells." 

Jack stood by Mother's knee while she opened 
Father's letter. She read it through and put it 
into the envelope again, saying, "No good news 

110 



THE METHOD APPLIED 111 

for us today, Jack. Father can't be home before 
next week." 

Jack walked to the window and looked out. "I 
wish I could hear some glad news today," he said. 

Just then a bluebird flew to a tree near by and 
began to sing. Then another bluebird flew to the 
tree and began to sing, too. "I know what you 
are singing, little bluebirds," said Jack. "You 
are singing, 'It is spring! It is spring!' Well, I 
am glad to hear that news." As Jack said the word 
news, he began to laugh and clap his hands. 

"Good! good!" he cried. "I have my wish. I 
have heard glad news. The bluebirds have brought 
it to me. 

What glad news the bluebirds bring. 
Singing, singing, ' It is spring ! ' 

I must go and tell Mother." 

Away Jack ran to Mother. 

"Oh, Mother," he cried, "I have heard some 
glad news. The bluebirds brought it to me. Lis- 
ten and I will tell it to you. 

What glad news the bluebirds bring. 
Singing, singing, 'It is spring!'" 

"Well, that is glad news. Jack. Go and tell it 
to Grandfather," said Mother, smiling. 
Jack ran to Grandfather. 
"Oh, Grandfather," he cried. "I know some 



112 LEARNING TO READ 

glad news. The bluebirds brought it to me. Lis- 
ten and I will tell it to you. 

What glad news the bluebirds bring. 
Singing, singing, 'It is spring!' " 

" Hurrah! hurrah! " shouted Grandfather. " Who 
cares for the old newspapers! The bluebirds' news 
is the best in the world. Let us go out and hear 
them singing it." 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. Be sure 
pupils get the thought in this rhyme and the 
meaning of the words. The word news may be 
difficult for some pupils. The story makes the 
meaning clear. To assure yourself that the pu- 
pils understand the thought, ask such questions, 
as, What glad news do the bluebirds bring? Why 
do we call it glad news.^* How do the bluebirds 
tell their glad news? 

3. Dramatize the story. This story calls for more 
pantomime than any of the other stories — put- 
ting down newspaper, taking off glasses, putting 
glasses into pocket, opening letter, returning letter 
to envelope, clapping hands, etc. Encourage the 
pupils to use these actions in their dramatiza- 
tion. They are aids to expression, and make the 
story more real. 

A quite different dramatization may be as 
follows : 



THE METHOD APPLIED 113 

Some pupils (bluebirds) fly to the front of the 
room, and facing the class sing, "It is spring! It 
is spring! " The other pupils, individually or in 
groups, run to the teacher, saying, 

What glad news the bluebirds bring. 
Singing, singing, '* It is spring! " 

4. Drill on the written rhyme. 

5. Word and phrase drill. See Chapter IV, 5; 
Chapter V, 5; Chapter VI, 5, and Chapter X, 5. 

6. Reading from the board. See sentences in 
Primer, pages d'l, 53, 55. 

7. Something to tell. See Primer, page 54. 
This exercise is another form of the exercises 

entitled, Something to do. See Chapter IV, 8. 

Let the pupils read the sentences silently, 
then do what they require, as follows: A pupil 
reads the first sentence, Tell a girl to run. The 
reader then faces a girl and says, " Run, Mary 
(or Alice)." A pupil reading the third sentence, 
Tell a boy to come to me, says to a boy, " John, go 
to Miss (Teacher's name)." 

These sentences are given to test the pupils' 
power to read thought, 

8. Seat work. See Chapter III, 11; Chapter V, 
10; Chapter VIII, 9; and Chapter X, 10. 

9. Phonics. Teach sound of n in no. Teach 
consonant blends, gl in glad and br in bring. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE PRIMER, Pages 56-57; THE CHART, 
Pages 20-21 

Rhyime X 

See the acorns on the tree, 
Some for httle squirrel and me. 

on see acorns for 

1. Tell the story, mtroducing the rhyme. 
The Acorns 

One day in fall Jack and Grandfather went into 
the woods to gather chestnuts. When their basket 
was full, Grandfather said, "Now let's go home." 

Just then Jack looked up into a big oak tree. 
"Oh, Grandfather," he cried, "See those little 
green nuts. Let us get some of them." 

"No," answered Grandfather, "those are acorns. 
You would not like them. Squirrels eat acorns." 

"See, there is a little squirrel in the tree now," 
said Jack. "Oh, Grandfather, I want some acorns 
to play with. There are so many of them. 

See the acorns on the tree, 
Some for little squirrel and me." 
114 



THE METHOD APPLIED 115 

*'Well," said Grandfather, "some day we will 
come back and get a big basketful. I think there 
are enough for you and the squirrel. Let us go 
home now." 

On the way home Jack saw three other oak 
trees. He stopped under each one and looked up 
at the acorns and said, 

" See the acorns on the tree, 
Some for little squirrel and me." 

Can you say this rhyme as often as Jack said it? 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story. Either follow the events 
in the story, or have four pupils represent the 
four oak trees. The trees stand with outspread 
branches (arms) . Jack and Grandfather walk from 
tree to tree. At each tree, they stop while Jack 
points up and repeats the rhyme to Grandfather. 

4. Drill on written rhyme. 

5. Word and phrase drills from board and cards. 

6. Reading from the Chart and Primer. After the 
word and phrase drills, have the pupils read the 
sentences from the Chart (p. 21) and Primer 
(p. 57). From this point it is not necessary to 
have reading of sentences from the board. 

7. Phonics. Teach sound of / in for. See Chap- 
ter IV, 9; Chapter V, 11, and Chapter VII, 10, 

Teach the consonant blend tr, in tree. 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE PRIMER, Pages 58-63; THE CHART, 
Pages 22-24 

Rhyme XI 

Little squirrel, run around, 
Look for acorns on the ground. 

ground look around 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 

The Tale of Squirrel Frisk 

It was autumn. The nuts were ripe. The boys 
had been busy for days gathering them. The 
squirrels were busy, too. Every one was gather- 
ing nuts and putting them away for the winter. 

Did I say every one.^* Then I made a mistake; 
for one little gray squirrel named PVisk sat in the 
sunshine on a low branch and did nothing but 
watch the others. 

"Why are you not gathering nuts.f^" asked an 
old squirrel. 

"Time enough yet," answered Frisk, in such a 
sleepy voice. 

116 



THE METHOD APPLIED 117 

"Time enough!" cried the old squirrel. "It 
will be winter very soon now." 

"Go away and don't bother me. I want to sit 
here in the sun and rest," said Frisk. 

"Rest!" repeated the old squirrel. "You will 
have all winter to rest. Now is the time to work. 

Little squirrel, run around, 
Look for acorns on the ground." 

And the old squirrel, scolding and chattering, went 
off to his work. 

A blue jay flew to the branch and, cocking his 
wise old head to one side, looked at Frisk. 

"What did that old squirrel just say to you. 
Frisk.?" he asked. 

"Oh, he said, 

'Little squirrel, run around. 
Look for acorns on the ground.' " 

"Why do you not do what he says?" asked the 
jay. "Winter will soon be here. Then what will 
you do?" 

"Why don't you gather some nuts yourself?" 
asked Frisk. 

"I don't have to gather nuts. I just watch 
where you silly squirrels hide your acorns. Then 
I help myself from your stores. So — 

* Little squirrel, run around. 
Look for acorns on the ground,* 



118 LEARNING TO READ 

and remember to find some for me, too. Ha! ha! 
ha!" screeched the jay. And off he flew. 

"Well," said Frisk, "if Mr. Blue Jay thinks 
I'm going to work this pleasant day gathering 
nuts for him to steal, he is much mistaken." So 
saying, Frisk curled himself up in a ball, and was 
soon fast asleep. 

Up blew the wind. How cold it grew! Frisk 
woke from his nap, shivering. 

"Oo-oo-oo," blew the wind, "oo-oo-oo, oo-oo- 
oo-oo, winter is coming. Hurry, little squirrel, 
and gather food for the winter. This is your last 
chance. Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo." 

Down from his branch jumped Frisk. How he 
worked all the rest of that beautiful autumn day! 
And what a lot of nuts he gathered! No one had 
to say now — 

"Little squirrel, run around, 
Look for acorns on the ground," 

for no other squirrel, little or big, gathered as many 
as Frisk. He hid them away in such a safe place! 
You couldn't have found them if you had searched 
all day. Even that sly old thief, the blue jay, 
couldn't find where Frisk had hidden his nuts. 

2. Teach the rhjnne. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story. Several pupils represent 
the busy little squirrels gathering nuts for winter. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 119 

One pupil, curled up on a chair or bench, takes 
the part of Frisk. Other pupils are the old squir- 
rel, the blue jay, and the wind. In dramatizing, 
follow the events of the story. 

4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 
5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Chapter IV, 4; Chapter VI, 5 and 6, 
and Chapter VIII, 3. 

5. Reading from the Chart and Primer. (Chart, pp. 
23, 24; Primer, pp. 59-62.) 

6. Silent reading. See Chapter IX, 8. 

Have pupils read page 63 of the Primer. — Who 
said? — reading the questions silently and the 
answers aloud. 

This page may also be read as a dialogue, one 
pupil asking the questions, another answering. 

7. Phonics. See Chapter X, 10. 

Keep lists of sight words on the board arranged 
in columns according to the initial consonant, as: 



boy 


come 


rain 


blue 


can 


run 


bring 







Teach the consonant blend, gr in ground. Re- 
view consonant blends continually, just as you 
review the simple consonant sounds, using cards. 

8. Ear-training. The teacher has lists of primer 
words on the board, as: 



120 LEARNING TO READ 



come 


go 


smg 


ram 


run 


girls 


me 


some 


jump 


boys 


tree 


sing 


ground 


glad 


bring 


look 



Teacher: I'll read the first sound in each word in a 
column. Who can tell the row I am thinking about? 
(reads) g, g, h, gl. 

Pupils point to the second column and read the 
words, slightly emphasizing the initial sound. 

Teacher: r, s, s, I. 

Pupils point to the fourth column and read the 
words. 

Teacher: c, r, j, gr. 

Pupils point to the first column and read the 
words. 

Teacher: s, m, tr, br. 

Pupils point to the third column and read the 
words. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE PRIMER, Pages 64-71; THE CHART, 
Page 25 

Rhyme XII 

Lazy Frisk will not run around 
And look for acorns on the ground. 

will not lazy Frisk 

1. Teach the rhyme. The meaning of this rhyme 
is made clear by the story and rhyme of the last 
chapter. 

'" 2. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 5, 
6, 7, 8, 9; Chapter IV, 4; Chapter VI, 5 and 6, 
and Chapter VIII, 3. 

3. Picture study. (Primer, p. 64.) What are 
the squirrels doing .^^ Show me lazy Frisk. Has 
he gathered any nuts? Why not.^^ Doesn't he 
know winter is coming .^^ What did he say to the 
people who told him to gather nuts.^ Who almost 
blew him from his branch.'^ What did the wind say 
to Frisk.f* Did Frisk gather any nuts.'^ Do you 
think the wind blew some acorns from the tree 
for Frisk .^ 

121 



122 LEARNING TO READ 

4, Reading from Primer. (Pages 65-71.) This 
"teacher-and-piipil story," Lazy Frisk, as its desig- 
nation implies, is to be read by the teacher and 
pupils alternately, each taking the part assigned. 
In her reading, the teacher sets a model in voice, 
pitch, tone, and time for the pupils to follow. 
The indirect imitation that this model stimulates 
produces better results in the pupils' understand- 
ing and expression than does direct imitation in- 
duced when the pupil reads what the teacher has 
read. 

In the teacher's part, several words are used 
that have not yet been introduced into the pupils' 
reading vocabulary; some of these, like vms and 
were, in the first paragraph of this story, will soon 
be used in the pupils' reading, while others will not 
be so used in the Primer. Hence, pupils should 
not be required to read the teacher's part. It will 
not be long, however, before some ambitious pupil 
will volunteer, "I can read the teacher's part!" 
Such ambition should be encouraged; thus the 
teacher's parts will furnish additional and more 
difficult reading matter for the stronger pupils. 

In reading "teacher-and-pupil stories," pupils 
as well as teacher, use conversational tones. 

5. Phonics. Teach consonant blend, pi in play. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE PRIMER, Pages 72-80; THE CHART, 
Pages 26-27 

Rhyme XIII 

Little bird, fly to the tree; 
There a Uttle nest I see. , 

there nest fly 

1. Tell the story, mtroducing the rhyme. 
Robin Redbreast 

Robin Redbreast was hopping about on the 
lawn. Very busy he seemed this bright spring 
morning. Indeed, every day was a busy day for 
Robin just now; for in his nest, hidden in the old 
tree near the porch, were three baby birds. What 
hungry little fellows they were! All day long they 
cried, "Peep, peep! peep, peep!" which is the birds' 
way of saying, "More worms! more worms!" This 
was the reason why Robin Redbreast was so busy. 

James stood at the window, watching Robin. 
He saw him take two or three little running hops, 
cock his head to one side, look at the ground with 
his bright eye, then dig his bill into the earth and 

123 



124) LEARNING TO READ 

begin to pull out a large worm. The worm did 
not want to come, and Robin was so busy pulling 
and tugging that he did not see something that was 
happening just back of him. 

Mrs. Gray Pussy was looking for a breakfast, 
also. She saw the nice fat robin on the lawn and 
said to herself, "He will make a fine breakfast 
for me. I must catch him." 

So Pussy crouched down close to the ground, 
then slowly, softly she began to creep, creep, creep, 
nearer and nearer to Robin Redbreast. 

Just then James looked that way and saw Pussy. 
Quickly he cried out to the robin, 

"Little bird, fly to the tree. 
There a little nest I see." 

But the window was closed, and Robin did not 
hear the call. He kept on pulling at the worm, and 
Pussy kept on creeping nearer and nearer. 

Just as she was about to spring on Robin, James 
threw up the window and cried out — 

"Little bird, fly to the tree. 
There a little nest I see." 

Robin looked up! He let go of the worm and 
flew swiftly to his nest in the old tree. There he 
sang and sang, "Cheer-up! cheer-up! I have lost 
my breakfast, but Pussy has lost hers, too. So, 
cheer-up! cheer-up! cheer-up!" 



THE METHOD APPLIED 125 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story. One pupil represents 
Robin hopping about on the ground; another 
represents Pussy creeping softly to catch Robin; 
a third pupil may be James and warn Robin. 
Sometimes the pupils like a group of pupils to 
represent Robin's little birds in the nest. 

4. Drill on new words used in the rhyme. For this 
drill, use both the board and the word cards. 

5. Picture study. (Primer, p. 72.) What is 
Robin trying to do.'^ For whom does he want the 
worms.'' Who else is looking for a breakfast.'^ 
What does she want for breakfast.'^ Who sees 
Pussy try to catch Robin.? What does James 
call to Robin.? Where is Robin's nest.? Will 
Pussy catch him? 

6. Reading from the Primer. Read stories follow- 
ing the rhyme, pages 73-80. These may be supple- 
mented with sentences on the board, as necessary. 

7. Seat work. Using small word cards, have 
pupils make original sentences. It adds interest 
to this exercise if occasionally after a pupil has 
finished making sentences he is allowed to read 
his original sentences to the class. Sometimes 
pupils may exchange seats and read the sentences 
from their neighbors' desks. 

8. Phonics. Teach the consonant blends, th in 
there and Ji in fly. • 



126 LEARNING TO READ 

9. Ear-training. 

Name Games 

1. Teacher: I am thinking of a boy in this class whose 
name begins with J. 

Pupils guess boy named (John). 

2. Teacher. There are three children in this room whose 
names begin with Fr. 

Pupils find children named (Frank, Fred, 
Frances) . 

3. Teacher: Who is the girl in this room whose first 
name begins with M and her second name with R? 

Pupils find girl (Minnie Ross). 



CHAPTER XVI 
. THE PRIMER, Pages 81-102 

Rhymes XIV, XV, XVI 

Little Boy Blue, 
Come blow your horn. 

blow your horn 

The sheep are in the meadow. 
The cows are in the corn. 

sheep meadow cows corn 

Where is the little boy who looks after the sheep? 
He is under the haycock, fast asleep. 

where after under he 

fast asleep haycock 

In the Primer the above rhyme is divided into 
three parts. Each part is taken up separately for 
drill on new words. The whole rhyme can best 
be taught at once, however. One story is suffi- 
cient to introduce it. 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 

The Story of Boy Blue 

"Dear, dear!" said Farmer Brown one morn- 
ing, "What shall I do.'* I must go to town this 

127 



128 LEARNING TO READ 

morning and there is no one I can leave to take 
care of my cows and sheep." 

Just as he finished speaking, a little boy came 
walking along the road. 

"Good morning, Farmer Brown," he said. "Do 
you want a boy to work on your farm?" 

"Yes, indeed I do," answered the farmer. "I 
want a boy to look after my cows and sheep." 

"Oh, I can do that," said the little boy. 

"Are you sure you can.'*" asked the farmer. 

"Yes, if you will tell me just what to do." 

"Well," said Farmer Brown, "I don't want the 
sheep to get into the meadow, and the cows must 
not be allowed to go into the corn." 

"I will watch them every minute. I won't let 
one get out of my sight." 

"Very well," said Farmer Brown. "What is 
your name.'*" 

"My name is Willie, but every one calls me Boy 
Blue, because I dress in blue and because I have 
a blue horn." 

"Well, Boy Blue, I have to go to town. Watch 
the sheep and the cows well. If any try to run 
away, just blow your horn and they will come 
back." 

"Oh, don't you worry. I know how to take 
care of the cows and sheep," said Boy Blue. 

Farmer Brown went off to town and for some 



THE METHOD APPLIED 129 

time Boy Blue watched the cows and sheep. To- 
ward noon the sheep were nibbhng the grass quietly 
and most of the cows were asleep in the shade. 
The rest were standing in the brook under the tall 
trees. None of them had tried to run away. 

"These cows and sheep are so good and quiet," 
thought Boy Blue, "I need not stand here watch- 
ing them. I will sit down in the shade of the big 
haycock." 

But alas and alas! He had been sitting there 
only a short time when his head began to nod — 
nod — nod, and soon he was fast asleep! 

At noon Farmer Brown got back from town and 
the first thing he saw was — the sheep eating the 
grass in the meadow! And the second thing he 
saw was — the cows trampling down the young 
corn! Then he looked for Boy Blue, but no Boy 
Blue could he see. 

"Little Boy Blue, 
Come blow your horn," 

he called. But no Boy Blue answered him. 
Again he called, 

"Little Boy Blue, 
Come blow your horn. 
The sheep are in the meadow. 
The cows are in the corn." 

But Boy Blue did not answer. 



130 LEARNING TO READ 

Then the farmer called to his wife, "Where is 
the little boy who looks after the sheep?" 

And his wife answered, "He is under the hay- 
cock, fast asleep." 

Away to the haycock ran Farmer Brown. There 
in the shade lay Boy Blue fast asleep. The farmer 
shook him and called, 

"Little Boy Blue, 
Come blow your horn, 
The sheep are in the meadow. 
The cows are in the corn." 

Quickly Boy Blue jumped to his feet! He blew 
the horn again and again. Away from the meadow 
scampered the sheep, and the cows ran as quickly 
from the corn. 

Boy Blue was ever so sorry. "I will never, never 
again sleep in the daytime," he said. 

And because he was so sorry. Farmer Brown for- 
gave him. Never again did Boy Blue let the cows 
and sheep run away. 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story. 

Characters: Little Boy Blue, Farmer Brown, 
the Farmer's Wife, some pupils for sheep, and some 
for cows. 

Follow the incidents in the story. 

4. Drill on new words used in the rhyme. Use 
the board and word cards. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 131 

5. Picture study. (Primer, p. 81.) Who is sitting 
on the fence .^ Does he look tired .^ Do you think 
he is tired because he has to look after the cows 
and the sheep.? What is Boy Blue asking Farmer 
Brown.? Did Farmer Brown let Boy Blue stay 
to take care of the cows and sheep.? 

(Page 87.) Where is little Boy Blue now? Who 
is speaking to him.? What does Farmer Brown say 
to Boy Blue.» 

(Page 91.) Where are the cows.? What is Boy 
Blue doing.? Do you think the cows will run from 
the corn.? See Chapter III, 4. 

6. Reading from the Primer, The stories imme- 
diately following each part of the rhyme are to 
be used as soon as the new words of that part of 
the rhyme are mastered. 

The sentences immediately following the third 
part of the rhyme may be read by two pupils as a 
dialogue. 

7. Seat work. Cut pages from any old book or 
magazine, using good type. Let pupils underline 
all the words thej^ know, and all that they can 
make out for themselves by sounding. 

8. Phonics. After the first part of the rhyme, 
teach the sound of y in your; after the second 
part, the consonant blend, sh in sheep; and after 
the third part, the sound of h in he. See Chapter 
X, 10. 



CHAPTER XVII 
THE PRIMER, Pages 103-110 

Rhyme XVII 

Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep, 
And can't tell where to find them. 

Bo-peep can't her them 

has lost find 

1. The story introducing the rhjone. Tell or read 
the story of Bo-peep. See Primer, pages 106-110, 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story. Follow events of the story. 

4. Drill on new words used in the rhjmie. Use 
board and word cards. 

5. Something to tell. The sentences on page 105 
introduce four new words repeated so frequently 
that pupils will quickly master them without special 
study. Each sentence, to be begun with Who said, 
is read by one pupil and answered by another, as, 
Who said, "Have you seen my cows?''' Answer, — 
Boy Blue said, "Have you seen my coivs?'' 

6. Reading the story from the Primer, pp. 106-110. 

7. Seat work. See Chap. XV, 7; and Chap. XVI, 7. 

8. Phonics. Teach the blend, squ in squirvd. 

132 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE PRIMER, Pages 111-123 
Rhyme XVIII 

Come, little snowflakes. 
Fly round and round, 
Cover with snow 
The cold, bare ground. 

snowflakes cover bare snow cold 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
The Snowflakes 

Many soft white snowflakes lived in a big fleecy 
cloud in Skyland. Frost King was their father. 

One day Frost King looked down on the earth. 

"How cold and bare the earth looks today! I 
fear that the little seeds hidden away in the ground 
will freeze unless I do something to help them." 

Then he turned to the little snowflakes and called 
in his loud, cheery voice, 

"Come, little snowflakes, 
Fly round and round. 
Cover with snow 
The cold, bare ground." 

But the snowflakes neither answered nor moved. 

133 



134 LEARNING TO READ 

"They could not have heard me," said Frost 
King. "I must call again." So again he called, 
this time louder than before, 

"Come, little snowflakes, 
Fly round and round, 
Cover with snow 
The cold, bare ground." 

But still the snowflakes neither answered nor moved. 

"Why, what can be the matter.''" thought 
Frost King. "My children, did you not hear me 
call you?" he cried. 

"Yes, Father, we heard you, but we do not want 
to leave our soft, fleecy bed in Skyland to go to 
the cold, hard ground." 

"Why, for shame, children! Do you want the 
little seeds to die.^* Don't you want the ground 
covered with snow for Christmas.'* It is only two 
days before Christmas eve, and if the ground is 
not well covered with snow, how can Santa Claus 
visit the earth children .'^ So — 

Come, little snowflakes. 
Fly round and round, 
Cover with snow 
The cold, bare ground." 

Slowly the little snowflakes slid from the great 
fleecy cloud. Softly one by one they fell to the 
cold earth, far, far below them. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 135 

When the little earth children looked up and saw 
the flakes, they clapped their hands and shouted, 

"Come, little snowflakes, 
Fly round and round. 
Cover with snow 
The cold, bare ground." 

2. Teach the rh3mie. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. This story may be dramatized, but better results 
will be obtained by waiting until after the next 
story has been told and the next rhyme memorized. 
See Chapter XIX, 3. 

4. Drill on new words used in the rhyme. 

5. Picture study. (Primer, p. 111.) What kind 
of fairies are these .^ How do you know they 
are snowflake fairies? Where did the snowflakes 
live? Who called to them? What did their father 
call? Did the snowflakes like to leave their nice 
soft beds in Skyland? Are some still in bed? 
Do the ones who have started for the earth seem 
glad to go? Why are they looking back? 

6. Reading from the Primer. (Pages 112-123.) 

7. Dialogue. See Primer, pages 118, 119. 

In all dialogue work insist on good expression. 
The pupils should not merely read the dialogue; 
they should talk it, act it. It is not necessary 
that two pupils only take part. Eighteen pupils, 
nine boys and nine girls, may read the dialogue 



136 LEARNING TO READ 

in this lesson. As it destroys the spirit and in- 
terest in the exercise to have the teacher call 
the name of each pupil who is to read, or even to 
indicate the reader by saying "next," arrange the 
pupils in two lines facing each other, the boys 
in one line, the girls in the other. Have it under- 
stood that the first boy reads the first sentence 
for "Boy," the first girl reads the first sentence 
for "Girl," the second boy the second sentence for 
"Boy," the second girl the second sentence for 
"Girl," and so on. The boy who asks the question 
looks at the girl who is to answer, and in answer- 
ing the girl looks at the boy. In short, the pupils 
should realize that they are talking to each other, 
not reading groups of words from a book. 

8. Review exercises. These exercises, pages 122 
and I'-Zo of the Primer, consist of lines from rhymes 
already memorized. They are introduced chiefly 
for practice in correct phrasing. 

9. Seat work. Pupils group words on small cards 
according to the initial consonant. Use small cards 
already used for other kinds of seat work, as 
described in Chapter III, 12, and in following 
chapters. Follow out constantly now the sugges- 
tions in Chapter IX, 10. 

10. Phonics. Drill on endings -s, -ing, -er, -ed 
(Primer, p. 120). See Chapter X, 10. 

Teach blends, si in sleep, and sn in snow. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE PRIMER, Pages 124-136 

Rhyme XIX 

Now the wind begins to blow. 
Faster, faster comes the snow. 



now 



wind begins 



1. Tell the story, mtroducing the rhyme. This story 
is really a continuation of the story for Rhyme 
XVIII. Before telling this, review the last story. 

The Wind and the Snowflakes 
You remember the snowflakes did not want to 
leave the great fleecy cloud and go dow^n to the 
cold, bare earth. So, although they had to go 
wdien Frost King ordered it, they went very slowly 
— just as slowly as boys and girls sometimes do 
things they would rather not do. 

Frost King saw how slowly the flakes were fly- 
ing to earth, and he laughed in his cheery way 
and said, "Ho! ho! ho! I'll send some one to 
hurry up those lazy snowflakes." 

So he called, "Come here. North Wind. See 
those lazy snowflakes. Blow with all your might 
and send them flying swiftly to the earth." 

137 



138 LEARNING TO READ 

"Oo-oo! Oo-oo-oo! Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo!" blew 
cold North Wind, right among the snowflakes. 
My, how they flew! Round and round, faster 
and faster! There was no more hanging back. 

How jolly old Frost King laughed while he 
watched them. He sang softly to himself, 

"Now the wind begins to blow. 
Faster, faster comes the snow." 

The earth children looked up and saw the snow- 
flakes hurrying and scurrying to earth. They, too, 
sang as they tried to catch the flakes in their hands, 

"Now the wind begins to blow, 
Faster, faster comes the snow." 

Soon the earth was covered with a blanket of 
soft, white snow. Still the wind blew, and still 
the snowflakes flew to the earth until the drifts 
were many and deep and the night came on. Then 
the children ran to their homes singing joyously, 

"Now the wind begins to blow. 
Faster, faster comes the snow." 

What fun the children would have in the morning! 

2. Teach the rh5nne. See Chapter IH, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story. A part of the schoolroom 
is Skyland. A number of pupils — as many as 
are desired — are snowflakes. One pupil may be 



THE METHOD APPLIED 139 

Frost King, and another North Wind. When the 
snowflakes first leave Skyland, they should move 
very slowly, turning round and round; when the 
wind begins to blow, they turn swiftly and more 
swiftly until they sink softly to the floor. If the 
teacher wishes, the pupils at their desks may be 
the earth children; but it should be kept in mind 
that an audience is as necessary to the success of a 
dramatized story in the schoolroom as are the actors. 

4. Drill on new words used in the rhyme. 

5. Picture study. (Primer, p. 124.) Are the snow- 
flakes hurrying to the earth.? Who is driving them? 
Who asked the wind to drive the snowflakes to 
earth? Why? What did the children sing when 
they saw the snowflakes flying to the earth? 

6. Reading from the Primer. (Pages 125-136.) 
See Chapter I, 7, and Chapter XIV, 4. 

After the story beginning on page 131 of the 
Primer has been read, let the pupils dramatize it. 
A second reading, following the dramatization, 
should show marked improvement in expression. 

7. Seat work. It should be understood that the 
busy work already suggested in preceding chapters 
of this Manual is to be used again and again, 
adapted to the new work as it is taught. Read- 
ing should form an increasing part of the seat work. 

8. Phonics. Teach the sound of w in wind, and 
the consonant blend, Jr in from. 



140 LEARNING TO READ 

9. Ear-training. The teacher gives alliterative 
phrases or sentences and pupils tell initial conso- 
nant. Examples : 

Big balls bounce. 
Bye, Baby Bunting. 
Blow, Boy Blue. 
Carrie can come. 
» Don digs deep. 

Father found Fido. 

Firemen fight fire. 

Good girls give. 

Goosey, goosey, gander. 

Henry hates hens. 

Hurry, Henry; hasten, Harry. 

Jill joins Jack. 

Laugh like Lucy. 

Mary makes merry music. 

Nora never naps. 

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-eater. 

Please pass papers. 

Rippling rills run. 

See-saw, Susan. 

See Simple Simon. 

Sing sweet songs, Sam. 

Tell tales, Tom. 

Watch Walter work. 

Wild winds wail. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE PRIMER, Pages 137-149 

Rhyme XX 

Tell me, what does bluebird say, 
When he sings at peep of day? 

when at peep 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rh3rme. 
The Bluebird's Song 

Jack Barton should have been a very happy 
little boy. He had a good home and a kind mother 
and father who did everything they could to make 
him happy. But still Jack was always grumbling. 
He hated to go to bed at night; he hated to get 
up in the morning; he hated to go to school; he 
hated work of all kinds. 

Tom Nelson was a very poor boy. He had no 
home, no parents. He worked for the neighbors. 
Every morning he was up with the birds. Then 
how busy he was till school time! In winter he 
shoveled paths and took care of furnaces; in 
summer he mowed lawns and ran errands. He 
did .anything he could find to do, for he had to 

141 



142 LEARNING TO READ 

make his own living. Still Tom was always happy. 
No one ever saw him without a smile on his face. 
Usually he was whistling or singing. People all 
said that one glimpse of Tom's bright face made 
them feel glad. 

One morning as Jack was walking slowly to 
school, Tom overtook him. 

"Hullo, Jack," cried Tom, cheerily. "What's 
the matter? You don't look very happy." 

"Well, I'm not happy," said Jack, crossly. "I 
hate to go to school." Then as he saw Tom's 
bright face he said, "Say, Tom, what makes you 
so happy all the time.'^" 

"Oh, something that bluebird told me one morn- 
ing very early." 

"Something that bluebird told you! What was 
it.f* Tell me." 

"No, you must find out for yourself," answered 
Tom. "Come, hurry, or we shall be late." 

Away ran Tom, but Jack only walked, and so 
slowly that he was late for school. 

All that day in school Jack kept thinking, "I 
wonder what bluebird told Tom that makes him 
so happy. I must find out. I shall ask the wood 
folk; they must know." 

The next day was Saturday, and as soon as 
Jack had finished his breakfast he ran into the 
woods. He hadn't gone far when he met a squirrel. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 143 

"Squirrel, squirrel,' he called. 

Tell me, what does bluebird say, 
When he sings at peep of day?" 

"I'm not the one to ask," said the squirrel, 
and before Jack could say another word, he scam- 
pered away. 

Next, Jack met a rabbit. "Good-morning, 
rabbit," he said. 

Tell me, what does bluebird say, 
When he sings at peep of day?" 

"Oh, don't ask me," said the rabbit, and away 
he hopped. 

"Dear me, I wish they wouldn't be in such a 
hurry. They might at least tell me whom to ask," 
said Jack. 

"What do you want to ask.^" said a small voice 
at his feet. "I'm never in a hurry." 

Jack looked down and saw a little snail creeping 
along. So he said, 

"Tell me, what does blueljird say, 
When he sings at peep of day?" 

"I'm surely not the one you should ask," said 
the snail. 

"Whom shall I ask then?" said Jack. 

"W^hy, ask bluebird, of course," answered the 
snail. "But you must ask him very early in the 
morning, at the peep of day." 



144 LEARNING TO READ 

"Oh, dear," said Jack, "I can never get up so 
early as that. Yet I do so want to know what blue- 
bird told Tom that makes him so happy." 

"Well, go to bed early to-night," said the snail. 
"Then you will feel like rising early in the morning. 
That's what we wood folk do." 

"Well, I will try it," said Jack; and he walked 
slowly toward his home. 

That night at eight o'clock. Jack put away his 
book and saying, "Good-night, Mother, good- 
night, Father," went upstairs and straight to bed. 
Soon he was fast asleep and dreaming that a hun- 
dred bluebirds were perched on the foot of his bed 
singing to him. 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the story. Dramatize that part of 
the story telling of Jack's visit to the wood folk. 

4. Drill on new words. Use board and word cards. 

5. Picture study. (Primer, page 137.) What is 
the little boy's name? Why has he come to the 
woods? Who was the first animal he met in the 
woods? What is the rabbit carrying? What is 
he going to do with it? What did Jack ask? Did 
the rabbit tell him what he wanted to know? 
W^hat other animals did Jack meet? Did any 
one tell him what bluebird sang at peep of day? 

6. Reading from the Primer. (Pages 138-149.) 

7. Seat work. See Chapter XIX, 7. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 145 

8. Phonics. Teach the sound of ;; in peep and 
the blend, wh in ivhen. See Chapter X, 10, 

Constantly review and apply sounds already 
taught. In teaching new words, have pupils give 
the sound of th6 initial consonant, if it is one 
they know. 

The following game often proves very helpful. 
The teacher, standing before the board with chalk 
in hand, says, "I'm thinking of a word that begins 
with b (or any other consonant)." 

Pupils try to guess the word. "Is it boy?"" 

Teacher: "No, it is not boy; but boy does' 
begin with 6, so I will write it on the board." 

The game goes on till the right word is guessed. 
When through, lists of words will have been written 
on the board something as follows — 



b 


s 


boy 


sing 


bird 


see 


blue 


spring 


bring 


song 



If a pupil should guess a wrong word, as play, 
he should be corrected at once. ''Play does not 
begin with b. With what sound does it begin.?" 

All drills, whether merely mechanical or in the 
form of games, should be brief, carried on with 
enthusiasm, and without loss of time. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE PRIMER, Pages 150 to end 

Rhit^e XXI 

Bluebird sings, "Wake up, my boy. 
Morning is come, sing, sing for joy." 

morning wake up joy 

y 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. This 
rhyme is but a continuation of rhyme XX, and 
the story a continuation of the last story. Before 
telling this story, review the last one. 

What Bluebird sang to Jack 

It was a beautiful spring morning when Jack 
Barton awoke from a long, sound sleep. It was 
still very early. The sun was just peeping into 
Jack's window. The birds were singing their 
morning songs. Jack rubbed his eyes sleepily. 
Suddenly he sat straight up in bed and listened 
with all his might. 

"Was that bluebird.^^" he said to himself. 

Yes, it was a bluebird sitting in the cherry tree 
just outside Jack's window. He was singing and 
singing till you would think his little throat could 
not hold so much music. 

146 



THE METHOD APPLIED 147 

Jack listened quietly, but with a smiling face, 
till bluebird flew away. Then he said, "I know 
what bluebird told Tom. He told me, too. Blue- 
bird sings, 

'Wake up, my boy, 
Morning is come, sing, sing for joy.' 

I know now why Tom sings and who told him to 
sing. Bluebird has taught me to sing and be 
happy, also. I shall try never to grumble again." 

How glad his father and mother were to see 
Jack so early at the breakfast table with a smiling 
face. 

"Well, Jack," said Father, "what makes you so 
happy this morning.'^" 

"Bluebird told me something this morning that 
made me so glad. I shall listen to him every 
morning and be glad and happy every day." 

"That is good news," said Mother. "But 

'Tell me, what does bluebird say, 
\Mien he sings at peep of day?' " 

"Bluebird sings, 

'Wake up, my boy, 
INIorning is come, sing, sing, for joy,' " 

answered Jack. 

And ever after there were two happy, bright- 
faced boys in town, and their names were Tpm 
and Jack. 



148 LEARNING TO READ 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

3. Dramatize the rhyme. Very little action is 
called for here. It will be sufficient to have one 
pupil take the part of Mother and ask, 

"Tell me, what does bluebird say. 
When he sings at peep of day.'*" 

Another pupil may be Jack and answer, 
"Bluebird sings, 

'Wake up, my boy. 
Morning is come, sing, sing for joy.' " 

4. Drill on new words. 

5. Picture study. (Primer, page 150.) Why did 
Jack wake so early .^ Wliy did he leave his win- 
dow open? Did bluebird sing for Jack.f* Wliere 
is he singing? What does he sing? Does his song 
make Jack happy? See Chapter III, 4. 

6. Reading from the Primer. (Pages 150 to end.) 

7. Phonics. Teach consonant blends, ch in chil- 
dren, and spr in spring. 

Direct pupils' attention to the similarity in 
the endings of certain words, as — 

play me sing 

way tree spring 

day he bring 

say see 

A rapid review of the rhymes will form the best 
introduction to this study of sounds. For this 



THE METHOD APPLIED 149 

purpose the rhymes may be taken up something 
as follows, using the last one for illustration. 

Tell me, what does bluebird say. 
When he sings at peep of day? 
Bluebird sings, " Wake up, my boy. 
Morning is come, sing, sing for joy." 

What word sounds something like say? The 
answer — day? With what sound does say begin? 
Day? With what sound 'do both words end? Pro- 
nounce distinctly, day, say. W'hat word sounds 
like boy? With what sound does boy begin? Joy? 
With what sound do both words end? Pronounce 
distinctly, boy, joy. 

8. Teach the alphabet. If letters have been referred 
to incidentally by name, as directed (see p. 86), all the 
letter names will now be familiar to most children. 
They should now be taught by mechanical repeti- 
tion to say the alphabet in order from memory. 

Note: No teacher need feel disturbed that in the nature content 
of the Primer there is sudden transition from spring to fall and 
winter, from winter to summer, and from summer to spring. The 
content of the book should not be expected to correspond step by 
step with the changing seasons; the Primer, though dealing with 
nature material because of its especial suitability, is not a nature 
reader, and such corresponflence would, of course, be impossible in a 
book that will be read through in four months. Seasonable corre- 
spondence is not at all necessary; children's memory and imagination 
suffice to make the content live. If one cares for a positive justifi- 
cation of the freedom taken with the order of the seasons, such 
justification may be found in the psychological principle of contrast, 
— spring suggests fall, winter suggests summer. 



CHAPTER XXII 
BOOK ONE, Page 9 

Rhyme I 

Fly, little birds, to the tall tree. 

Fly to your nest and little birds three. 

tall three 

1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. This story 
is very similar to the story introducing a previous 
similar rhyme, Rhyme XIII in the Primer. 

Robin's Escape 

One bright morning in spring, James stood at 
the window looking out at two robins. The birds 
were looking for worms, and very hard they had 
to work, too. For up in the tall tree near the porch 
was a little nest, and in the nest three baby birds. 
What hungry little robins they were! They could 
only say, "Peep! peep!" which means, "More! 
more!" but they said that from morning till night. 
So the father and mother robins were kept busy, 
I can tell you, looking for more, more, and more 
worms to feed their little ones. 

This morning they were especially busy, for, 
you see, the babies were one day older, and so 

150 



THE METHOD APPLIED 151 

one day hungrier than they had been yesterday; 
so, of course, they wanted more food. 

Father Robin was pulHng a big fat worm from 
the grountl, and Mother Robin was busy looking 
for another, with her head cocked to one side, so 
that neither saw nor heard pussy as she came 
creeping over the grass. Even James was so 
interested watching the robins that he did not see 
her either. 

Softly pussy crept over the grass. Nearer and 
nearer and nearer to the little birds she crept. 
Then she crouched down, just ready to spring, 
when James saw her. Quickly he knocked on 
the window and called, 

"Fly, little birds, to the tall tree, 

Fly to your nest and little birds three." 

Off flew the two robins to their nest. How dis- 
appointed pussy looked! She looked at James as 
much as to say, "I would have caught at least one 
of those robins for my breakfast if you had not 
called, 

'Fly, httle birds, to the tall tree, 
Fly to your nest and little birds three.' " 

But the father robin flew to the tree top and, 
looking down at pussy, sang as loud as he could, 
*' Cheer-up! Cheer-up! Cheer-up!" 

2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, g. 



152 LEARNING TO READ 

3. Dramatize the story. See Chapter XII, 3. 

4. Drill on new words used in the rhyme. 

5. Picture study. (Book One, page 9.) What 
is the httle girl saying to the birds? (Use rhyme 
for the answer.) Where is the tall tree.^^ Call 
attention to tall tree in background, note fence, 
evergreen tree, and hill back of tall tree. Can you 
see the nest in the tall tree.^^ Why not.^^ Turn 
to picture on page 11. Here we see the tall tree 
nearer to us. Is it the same tall tree we saw on 
page 9? How do you know? Note again fence, 
evergreen tree, and hill back of tall tree — also 
the general shape of the tall tree. Now can you 
see the nest? See what the parents are doing? 

6. Phonics. Teach the consonant blend, thr in 
three. Teach series 1, on the Phonic Chart. See 
Chapter I, 5, and Chapter II, 4. 

In the teaching of phonics up to this time atten- 
tion has been given to the mastery of the consonant 
sounds and their symbols. If this work has been 
thoroughly done — as it should have been — every 
pupil is now able to give correctly and without 
hesitation the sound of every consonant, except 
possibly, k, qu, and v, wherever he sees the con- 
sonant symbol, it may be at the end or in the body 
of a word as well as at the beginning, it may be on 
the board, on a chart, or written on paper, as well 
as on the ariii cards. About one-half the consonant 



THE METHOD APPLIED 153 

blends have also been studied, and should be as 
thoroughly mastered as the simple sounds. 

Test your pupils thoroughly to see whether they 
have this ready command of the consonant sounds. 
If you find the class as a whole weak at any point, 
drill them until they have completely mastered 
their difficulty ; if you find individual pupils 
weak, drill them individually until their weakness 
is overcome. It is really very little that pupils are 
required to master as a basis of practical phonics, but 
that little must be mastered absolutely if they are to 
become rapidly independent in their reading. 

Even though your pupils now show complete 
mastery of the consonant sounds and their sym- 
bols, these should be kept in constant review, not 
only in the application of this knowledge in read- 
ing, but through daily, or frequent, formal drills. 
The pupil's mental and vocal reaction to a conso- 
nant symbol should become absolutely automatic. 

This mastery of the consonant sounds and sym- 
bols constitutes one half the equipment necessary 
to independent reading; the second half — with- 
out which the first is of slight service — consists 
in the equally ready command of vowel combina- 
tions, commonly referred to as "families," or 
"series." To get this ready command long, sys- 
tematic, patient study, consisting of both drill and 
application, is necessary. Such study carried on 



154 LEARNING TO READ 

faithfully will be found most stimulating, because 
the practical results - — the daily growth in power 
to read independently — are quite obvious both 
to teacher and pupil. An introduction to this 
study of "families" has already been made if the 
directions given in Chapter XXI, Sec, 7, have been 
carried out. The more systematic study now 
begins with the taking up of the first series on the 
Phonic Chart. This first series, the ee series, should 
be taken up somewhat as follows : — 

1. Drill to teach family name. 

Teacher: (Pointing.) Pronounce the first word of the 
series. 

Pupil: See. 
Teacher: Sound it. 
Pupil: S ee. 

Teacher: Point to ee. (Pupils point.) 
What does this (pointing to ee) say? (Pupil sounds ee.) 
Pronounce the second word in the series, (be.) 
Sound it. (6 e.) 
What does this (pointing to e) say? (Pupil sounds e.) 

The teacher now points to the family (e or ee) 
in every word in the series, the pupils sounding (ee) 
each time as she points. This repetition estab- 
lishes for the pupils the association of the sound, 
and the symbol teaches them this family so that 
they will recognize it instantly. 

2. Blend drill. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 155 

Have pupils sound and pronounce in order 
ever.y word in the series {s ee, see; b e, be, etc.). 
In sounding, the sound of the initial consonant should 
be separated from that of the family just enough to 
make a clear analysis of the sounds, not enough to 
distort the word; the sounding of each word should 
be followed immediately by the natural pronun- 
ciation of it. 

3. General drill and test. 

(1) Pupils sound and pronounce words in any 
order as teacher points. (2) Pupils pronounce 
words (a) in order, (b) as directed by pointer. 

(3) Teacher sounds or pronounces a word; chil- 
dren repeat and point to the word on the chart. 

In addition to this class test and drill, each 
pupil should be tested individually. It is not 
enough that the class, as a class, master an}" of 
these fundamental things; every pupil must mas- 
ter them. In this individual test if a pupil is una- 
ble to pronounce any word, do not tell him nor let 
any one tell him, but do this: (1) take him back 
to the familiar, initial word of the series (see) ; 
(2) have him pronounce it; (3) have him sound it; 

(4) have him tell the family; (5) have him tell 
the family of the word that he missed; (6) have 
him sound the initial consonant of that word; 
(7) have him blend the initial consonant with the 
family; (8) have him pronounce the word. 



156 LEARNING TO READ 

Is this a long process of getting the pronuncia- 
tion of one little word that might have been .told 
instantly by some other pupil? Considering the 
results, the process is short and most profitable. 
In going through these steps patiently the pupil 
is not merely learning to pronounce this particular 
word in question, he is learning the habit of ap- 
plying his knowledge intelligently and effectively 
to the pronunciation of words in general. Note 
that nothing has to be told the pupil; he has simply 
to be directed in the orderly application of the 
knowledge and power that he already has. A few 
patient lessons of this kind will enable the pupil 
to do for himself. It will not be necessary each 
time to go through all the eight steps as outlined 
above; perhaps merely referring the pupil to the 
first word of the series will be sufficient suggestion 
for him. The time thus spent with a single pupil 
is not wasted for other pupils, even for those 
who may know the particular word under study. 
With proper attention on their part, they will be 
getting a valuable lesson in the habit of systematic 
analysis of words and in the application of their 
knowledge of phonics. 

The study of this first series, as here outlined in 
detail, is typical of the course that should be fol- 
lowed with subsequent series as they are taken up. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

BOOK ONE, Pages 10-14 

Rhyme II 



Two little birds sitting on a hill. 




One called Jack, 






One called Jill. 






Fly away, Jack, 






Fly away, Jill. 




No little birds sitting on 


the hill. 


(will) 


two 


one 


hill 


(it) 


(tall) 


fill 


sit ting 


call ed 



1. Teach the rh3nne. This old rhyme and the next 
one (Book One, page 15), which is a continua- 
tion of this, have been repeated, sung, and acted 
by generations of children; they need no intro- 
ducing story. 

2. Dramatize the rhyme. Two children, Jack and 
Jill, are sitting on a hill (chairs or desks in front 
of the room). The class, or a pupil, recites the 
rhyme. When Fly aumy. Jack, is repeated, the 
boy flies away; when Fly away, Jill, is repeated, 
the girl flies to her desk. It is now quite obvious 
that "no little birds are sitting on the hill," 

J57 



158 LEARNING TO READ 

3. Drill on the new words used in the rhyme. 

4. Picture study. (Book One, page 10). What 
is the little girl saying to the birds .f* Which bird 
has already flown away.^ Why do you think she 
wants the birds to fly away.^^ 

5. Reading from Book One, pages 11-14. 

The One, Two, Three Song, page 12. See that 
the children understand the meaning of this title. 
Bo-peep and Jack each sing a "one, two, three 
song." Both sing of one nest, two big birds, and 
three baby birds. How do the songs differ.f^ 

6. Seat work, (a) Make the rhyme with small 
seat- work cards, (b) Cut or draw the "one, two, 
three song" — one nest, two flying birds, three 
birds. Cuttings may be mounted. 

7. Phonics. See Chapter XXII, 6. In connection 
with the new words Jill, hill, sitting, called, teach 
series ill, it, and all, 2, 3, and 4, from the Phonic 
Chart. With these series, teach the sound of k 
in kill, and use blend cards in drilling on the fol- 
lowing: sp in spill, st in ^/?7/, dr in drill, sk in skill, 
qu in quilly sm in small, and spl in split. 

Phonetic Series Cards can be used to excellent ad- 
vantage to give variety and added interest to the 
drill on the series. These cards are readily made 
as follows : On strong manila cards, 4X7 inches, • 
if possible with rounded corners, place the "fami- 
lies" and the initial word of the series as they are 



THE METHOD APPLIED 



159 



taught. Each card should contain on one side 
the initial word of a series, on the other side the 
"family" alone of that series. The two sides of 
cards representing series 1, 2, 3, and 4 would be 
as follows : — 



(1) 




(^2) 




(3) 




(4) 


see 




will 




sit 




tall 
















66 




ill 




it 




all 



A pack of these cards is built up gradually by add- 
ing a card for each series as it is taught. 

The Phonetic Series Cards are used as follows: — 
(a) For drill in quick analysis of words into 
their initial consonant or consonants and. families. 
Show the side of the cards containing the words. 
Children (1) pronounce the word, (2) sound it, 
(3) pronounce the family alone. 

(6) For drill on "families." Show the side of 
the cards containing families alone. Pupils pro- 
nounce each family as it is shown. If a pupil 
cannot call a family at once, do not tell him, do 
not let him be told, but turn the card, have him 
(1) pronounce the word on the reverse side, (2) 
sound it, (3) pronounce the family (teacher cover- 
ing the initial consonant or consonants). Now 



160 



LEARNING TO READ 



turn the card again and let the pupil pronounce 
the family alone. This is but one more of the 
innumerable instances in which the pupil must 
be made to do for himself what he is perfectly 
capable of doing. 

In the drills these cards are to be handled in the 
same manner as the word and consonant cards. 
See Chapter II, 2. 

Phonetic word builders for seat work may be readily 
made on a hektograph. Copy on heavy manila 
paper the words of the four series already studied, 
writing the words under each other with slight 
separation of the initial consonant or consonants. 
The first two series are so long it will be better to 
omit about half the words of each, retaining those 
most familiar to the children. There should be 
us many copies of these four series as there are 
children to be supplied with seat work. 

Cut up each copy separately, cutting the series 
into words and each word into two parts, the ini- 
tial consonant or consonants and the family, so 
that each word will be separated like this: 



sh 1 e 




b|ill 




h 1 it 




flail 



Make these little cards as nearly uniform in size 
as possible and not too small. They should be 
from one-half to one inch square. Put these 



THE METHOD APPLIED 161 

cut-up words into large envelopes or boxes, one 
copy of all the words of the four series into each 
envelope or box. 

The work of the pupil consists in laying these 
cards in series on his desk. He should lay the 
cards as directed, and may (a) copy the series on 
the Phonic Chart or {b) copy series written on 
the blackboard. Before the cards are returned 
to the envelopes, the pupils' work should be in- 
spected and each pupil required to read a word or 
two from each series made. 

In the beginning do not let pupils make words except 
from copy. If you do, you will get such words as 
de, cill, git, jail. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
BOOK ONE, Pages 15-18 

Rhyme III 

Come back, J9,ck, 
Come back, Jill, 
Two little birds sitting on a hill. 

(Jack) 
back 

1. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

2. Dramatize the rh3nne. This rhyme continues 
and completes the last rhyme (Book One, page 10). 
It adds one act — the calling back of the two birds — • 
to the dramatization of that rhyme. 

3. Picture story. (Book One, page 15.) What 
are the little girls doing? Is it a doll's party.'* 
Who else has come to the party? What are the 
birds' names? Why have they come? Will the 
girls feed them? 

4. Reading from Book One, pages 16-18. The 
story of the party on page 16 is the story of the 
picture on page 15. After the pupils have read 
the story, let them turn back to the picture and 
tell which girl is Bo-peep and which is May 

162 



THE METHOD APPLIED 163 

Children should begin to read groups of sen- 
tences that belong together, for instance, all that 
one speaker says at one time. The indentations 
in the margin on the page indicate such groups. 
Thus, on page 18 the first four sentences belong 
together, the next three together, etc. 

5. Phonics. See Chapter XXII, 7, and Chap- 
ter XXIII, 7. In connection with the new word 
bacJi, teach series 6 from the chart, the ack series. 
In connection with the new words, May and flew, 
page 16, teach Series 5 and 7 on the chart, the 
ay and eiv series. When teaching these series, use 
consonant blend cards to drill on the following: 
cl in clay, pr in pray, sir in stray, sw in sway, and 
cr in crack. 

6. Ear-training. Teacher reads words in a series, 
introducing a word that does not belong in the 
series. Pupils indicate in some way the new word. 
For example: The teacher reads, " back. Jack, 
crack, pack, nest." Children nod heads at each 
word that belongs in ack family, and give a nega- 
tive signal when nest is pronounced by the teacher. 

7. Seat work. The story on page 18 contains 
no new words. Let the children study it at their 
seats. Before reading it aloud, have them repro- 
duce it either as a whole or in answer to some 
suggestive questions, to make sure that they are 
learning to get thought through silent reading. 



CHAPTER XXV 

BOOK ONE, Pages 19-26 

Rhyme IV 

Mother squirrel in her nest, 
Said, "My children are the best." 

"The best children that I see," 
Said mother robin, "are my three." 

(nest) robin (at ) 

best that 

1. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 

2. Drill on new words. 

3. Read the teacher-and-pupil story, following the 
rhyme. See Chapter XIV, 4. 

4. Dramatize the teacher-and-pupil story. After 
dramatizing, have the story read again, for free- 
dom, phrasing, and expression. 

5. Phonics. In connection with the new words 
best and that, page 19, teach series 8 and 10 from the 
chart, the est and at series. See Chapter XXII, 7. 

From this time, the lists of words given on the 
Pupils' Phonic Drill Cards should be studied daily. 
These lists serve to test the phonic power of indi- 

164 



THE METHOD APPLIED 165 

vidual pupils, and offer each one an opportunity 
to extend that power as rapidly as he is able. 

No pupil should be chided, especially in the 
early use of these cards, if he is unable to pro- 
nounce words not already studied in series; pupils 
should be encouraged to try new words, and 
commended when they succeed. 

6. Ear-training. To review two families of words, 
the teacher gives each child a word from a family, 
as: see, hill, me, till, tree, ivill, etc. Then she says, 
" All in the ee family come to me." When the 
children come she asks each one his name. Each 
says the word the teacher gave. The children all 
listen to see if any one not in the family called 
has come to the teacher. If, for example, she has 
called the ill family and a child gives his name as 
tree, he is told, " You are not in the ill family; 
you are in the ee family." 

This drill may be made into games as follows: 
Those called to the teacher may be a family 
that is moving, a family going on a picnic to the 
seashore, etc.; or they may be allowed to do 
something in the classroom, such as, find their 
names (the words given), on the phonetic chart. 

7. Seat Work. With their phonetic word builders, 
have the pupils make the words in the est and at 
series. See Chapter XXIII, 7. 



CHAPTER XXVI 
BOOK ONE, Pages 27-31 

Rhyme V 

Robin, Robin Redbreast, 
Singing on the bough, 
Come and get your breakfast, 
I will feed you now. 

bough feed breakfast 

get Redbreast 

1. Tell the story, mtroducing the rhjmie. 

Robin Redbreast's Breakfast 

One morning Robin Redbreast flew from his 
nest to look for some breakfast for himself and 
his little birds. He looked all over the garden and 
all over the field, but either Robin had bad luck 
that morning, or the worms had good luck, for 
not a single worm could he find. 

Now such luck as Robin had would be enough 
to make some people fuss and others cry, but 
Robin only flew to the tip-top bough of the tall 
tree and sang and sang, "Cheer-up, cheer-up! 
Cheer-up, cheer-up! Cheer-up, cheer-up!" 

166 



THE METHOD APPLIED 167 

Gray Greedy Pussy heard Robin and came 
creeping under the tree. In her mouth she carried 
a httle piece of bread. Looking up at Robin, she 
said in her softest voice, 

"Robin, Robin Redbreast, 
Singing on the bough, 
Come and get your breakfast, 
I will feed you now." 

But Robin knew what Pussy wanted, so he said, 
"No, no, Gray Greedy Pussy, no, no. I saw you 
kill a little mouse yesterday, but you shall not 
kill me." 

Then Gray Greedy Pussy crept away. 

Next, Mr. Sly Fox heard Robin's song and came 
sneaking under the tree. He held up a little piece 
of meat that he had stolen and said, 

"Robin, Robin Redbreast, 
Singing on the bough. 
Come and get your breakfast, 
I will feed you now." 

But Robin said, "No, no, Mr. Sly Fox, I saw 
you kill a little chicken yesterday, but you shall 
not get me." 

And Mr. Sly Fox had to trot off to the woods 
without any robin for breakfast. 

Soon little Mary heard Robin singing. Quickly 



168 LEARNING TO READ 

she filled a bowl with crumbs and ran to the tall 
tree. Holding up her bowl she said, 

"Robin, Robin Redbreast, 
Singing on the bough, 
Come and get your breakfast, 
I will feed you now." 

Then she placed the bowl under the tree and 
ran back to the house. Robin sang, "Thank you! 
Thank you!" until Mary was out of sight; then 
down he flew and found all the breakfast he and 
his babies could eat. 

2. Teach the rhyme. 

3. Dramatize the story. 

Characters: Robin, Gray Greedy Pussy, Mr. 
Sly Fox, and Mary. A chair may represent the 
tall tree. Follow the events in the story. 

4. Drill on new words. 

5. Picture study. (Book One, page 27.) Where 
is Robin. f^ What is he singing.'* What is the little 
girl's name.'* What is she saying.^* (Rhyme.) 
What is in the bowl.f* 

6. Reading from Book One. (Pages 28-31.) See 
Chapter I, 7. 

7. Phonics. See Chapter ,XXII, 6, and Chapter 
XXIII, 7. In connection with the word 7ioiv, teach 
series 9, and in connection with the new words, fed 
and then, teach series 12 and 11 from the chart. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

BOOK ONE, Pages 32-34 

Rhyme VI 

Little robin, glad and gay. 
Singing in the happy May, 
When you come, the flowers grow, 
That is why I love you so. 

(no) (blow) (fly) love 

so grow why flowers 

1. Teach the rh5rme. 

2. Drill on the new words in the rhyme. 

3. Phonics. In connection with the new words 
groiv and ivhy, on page 3^2, teach the ow and y series, 
13 and 14. 

4. Seat work. After the rhyme and new words 
have been taught, let the pupils study silently 
the reading lesson on page 33, first asking them 
questions to direct their attention to things that 
they should find out from their reading, such as: 
What time of the year is this story about .^^ Did 
the little girl like this time of year.^* Why.'^ 

Before calling upon the pupils to read the 
lesson aloud, let them answer the questions asked 

169 



170 LEARNING TO READ 

at the beginning of their study. Let their answers 
be full enough to show that they get the thought, 
as: This story is about the spring time. The 
little girl loves the spring because the birds and 
flowers come back then, 

5. Read " The Spring." This rhyme, in dialogue 
form, contains no new words. It is so simple in 
thought and so direct in expression that little 
study should be necessary to enable the pupils 
to read it appreciatively. 

6. Phonetic game for ear-training. 

The Hidden Word 

The teacher writes a word of a series on a card, 
and gives the card to a pupil. Other pupils try 
to guess the word. For example: 

The teacher says: " I have given John a word 
in the all family. You may try to guess the word." 

(Pupils in turn give a word from the all family.) 

Tom: Is it tall? 

Teacher: No, it is not tall. (Writes tall on the black- 
board.) 

Mary: Is it fall.? 

Teacher: No, it is not fall. (Writes fall on the black- 
board.) 

Will: Is it hill.? 

Teacher or pupil: Hill is not in the all family. It is 
in the ill family. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 171 

When the right word is guessed, the teacher 
writes it on the blackboard in colored crayon. 
The pupil or pupils who gave words not in the all 
family read the list on the blackboard after the 
teacher. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
BOOK ONE, Pages 35-38 

Rhyme VII 

Rock-a-bye, babies, on the tree-top. 
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock, 
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. 
And down will come cradle, babies and all. 

cradle rock-a-bye top 

break rock soon down 

1. Teach the rhyme. 

2. Drill on new words. The word soon is a sight 
word, to be used in the second lullaby. 

3. Read to the pupils the lullaby beginning, 
"Sleep and rest," before asking them to read it. 
Do this that you may "Jend to the rhyme of the 
poet, the beauty of youi voice." Never forget 
that poetry is intended to Piake its appeal through 
the ear. Hence, until pupiJs have developed some 
true appreciation of poetry through hearing much 
expressive reading of it, any new poem should 
always be read to them, and read with apprecia- 
tive expression, before they are allowed to read it, 
even though they may know — be able to call — 
every word in it. 

172 



THE METHOD APPLIED 173 

4. Reading from Book One. The lesson following 
the rhymes offers no difficulties and may be read 
at sight, or assigned for silent reading. It is 
now time that pupils begin the formation of the 
invaluable habit of thoughtful silent reading. In 
the beginning, only lessons easy in thought and 
containing no new words should be assigned for 
silent reading. The teacher must make sure that 
pupils are really reading — that is, getting the 
thought, not merely calling words to themselves. 
This may be done by some definite questions 
that pupils are to answer through this silent read- 
ing, and by testing them after they have read 
silently, either by calling upon them to answer 
the questions set in the beginning or to give a 
brief reproduction of what has been read. Care 
must be taken to see that they form the habit of 
reproducing the thought, not the mere words. 

5. Phonics, With the use of the consonant blend 
cards, keep up daily drill on the consonant blends 
already taught. 

6. A phonetic game for ear-training. 

A Race 
Before the game begins the teacher writes (on 
the blackboard) a number of words of one family. 
This list is covered or hidden in some way.' 

Teacher: I have written some words from the at family 



174 LEARNING TO READ 

(or any other family) on the blackboard. You may tell 
me all the words you know in the at family and I will 
write them here. (On another part of the blackboard.) 
Then we will count all the words you have given, and all 
the words I have written. If you give more than I have 
written, you win the game. If I have written more than 
you can give, I win the game. 

After the pupils' list has been written and both 
lists counted, the score is written on the board. 

When the teacher is the winner, write the num- 
ber under winner with white crayon; when the 
pupils win, write the number with colored crayon. 





Score 






Families 


Teacher 


Pupils 


Winner 


ill 


18 


12 


6 


it 


10 


14 


4 


all 


6 


10 


4 



This game may be continued with profit for 
many days, and the keeping, preserving, and com- 
paring of scores will stimulate the interest in the 
game and the phonetic study. 



CHAPTER XXIX 
BOOK ONE, Pages 39-43 

Rhyivie VIII 

"Come, little leaves," said the wind one day, 
"Come over the meadows with me and play." 

leaves over 

1. Teaching the rhyme. This rhyme may be easily 
and pleasantly learned in connection with a study 
of the picture that accompanies it and by drama- 
tization. In studj'ing the picture, let the pupils 
note how lightly Wind skims over the ground, how 
he beckons with his finger, the pipes upon which 
he blows; let them note, also, the leaves, whirl- 
ing and dancing about him, how glad they seem. 

The pupil who personates Wind may carry pipes 
made of two new lead pencils. He flits through 
the aisles, beckoning to different pupils and blow- 
ing on his pipes, while the class recites the 
rhyme. The pupils thus called rise from their 
seats and follow Wind, whirling as they go. The 
pupils at the seats, or the teacher, may continue 

the rhyme, 

175 



176 LEARNING TO READ 

"Dancing and whirling, the Httle leaves went, 
Winter had called them and they were content; 
Soon fast asleep in their earthy beds. 
The snow laid a coverlet over their heads." 

As the last two lines are recited, the pupils who 
are leaves drop softly to the floor and another 
pupil — the snow — goes to each one and makes 
believe cover him with snowflakes. 

2. Phonics. In connection with peep and old, p. 
41, teach series 15 and 16. Card drill on sc in scold. 

To vary the phonetic drill, which should be 
regular, systematic, and very thorough, write 
and leave on the blackboard the name of each 
family as it is learned in the series. Write the 
family names horizontally or in column, leaving 
space before each name sufficient to write in two 
or three consonants, as ee, e, ill, it, all, ay, 
ack, ew, etc. These kept constantly before the 
pupils form the basis of several interesting drills 
which serve to test and fix each pupil's knowledge. 
The drills should be quick, holding the attention 
and enlisting the best efforts of every pupil. 

(a) Pupils pronounce families as teacher or 
pupils point to them. 

(6) Teacher writes consonant sounds before the 
families, varying these sounds from day to day; 
pupils are given exercises in sounding and pro- 
nouncing the words thus made. For example. 



THE METHOD APrLIED 177 

one day the words may be as in the first hne, 
another day as in the second. 



tree 


he 


hill 


sit 


fall 


may 


tack 


free 


she 


bill 


hit 


ball 


play 


black 



Exercises on the words thus formed may be varied; 
pupils may sound and pronounce words together, 
either taking words in order or as they may be 
pointed out, or pupils may take turns, each one 
taking a word, telling the familj^ sounding and 
pronouncing it. By this daily change of conso- 
nants pupils acquire facility in the analysis and 
recognition of sounds and words. 

(c) Teacher calls out any word of a family 
represented on the board. Pupils repeat word, 
pronounce family, point to family on the board. 

(d) Pupils in turn sound any word they can 
think of in a series. Teacher writes the word 
sounded on the board, class pronounces the word. 
This exercise must be rapid to hold the attention. 

Of course not all these little devices should be 
used in one day or in teaching any one series. The 
object and result of all is essentially the same. 
They give drill in the quick analysis, recognition, 
and pronunciation of sounds and words; their 
variety tends to keep the interest and effort of 
th€ pupils at the highest pitch. They are a valua- 
ble supplement to the Phonic Chart. 



CHAPTER XXX 
BOOK ONE, Pages 44-17 

Rhyme IX 

Come, little birds, 

Stop your play. 
Snow is coming down. 

You must hide away. 

hide stop 

1. Read the rhyme with the pupils; there are only 
two new words in it, hide and stop. 

2. Study the picture with the pupils. Who is 
talking to the little birds .^^ What does she say to 
them.f^ (Answer with the rhyme.) Will these 
little birds fly away from the snow.'^ Where will 
they hide.f^ What do you think they answered the 
little girl.^^ 

3. Make a story from the picture, weaving in the 
pupils' answer to questions like the above. The 
story may be somewhat as follows : — 

Picture Story 

One day in winter little Mary went into the 
garden. The snow was falling gently. Little 

178 



THE METHOD APPLIED 179 

sparrows were there chirping and playing in a 
bare rosebush. 

" Why, I thought all the birds had gone south 
long ago," said Mary. Then she called — 

Come, little birds, 

Stop your play. 
Snow is coming down, 

You must hide away. 

" Chirp! chirp! chirp! " answered the sparrows. 
This was their way of saying, " No, no, little girl. 
We do not go away. We stay here all winter. 
We have seeds to eat. You may give us some 
crumbs, if you please. Chirp! chirp! chirp! " 

" I think they are going to stay here all winter," 
said Mary. " I will run in and ask Mother for 
some crumbs for them." 

4. Dramatizing. A short story like the above can 
be readily dramatized. Let the pupils, as far as 
possible, determine the parts and choose the 
actors. Then let them carry out the little play. 
They should require little help. 

5. Phonics. In connection with the new words, 
stop and land, take up series 17 and 18 respec- 
tively, the oj) and and series. 

6. Making phonic stories for ear-training. 

The teacher tells a story introducing as many 
words of a series as possible. After naming the 
family, the teacher gives the initial consonants of 



180 LEARNING TO READ 

the words only, the pupils adding the family 
name. 

Example (a): 

Teacher: I'm going to tell you a story in the all family. 
Whenever I stop, you may say the word I am thinking. 

Teacher then tells a story, stopping after sound- 
ing the initial letters for the pupils to give the 
words. 

The all story: 

As I was running through the h , I heard somebody 

c . I looked back and saw a man who was very t 

standing by the w . " You are too sm to run so 

fast," he said. " Go slowly or you'll f ." I tossed 

my b in the air, and as I ran away I said, " If I 

f , you'll hear me squ ." 

Example (6): The Bray Picnic. 

Mr. Br said, " Let us all go on a picnic. We'll 

take the children to the B and let them pi all 

d long." 

" The sky looks very gr ," said Mother Br . 

"I see scarcely a r of sunshine." 

" It m- clear any minute," said Father. " Farmer 

F will take us in his wagon." 

"Did he s he would.?" asked Mother. "Yes, 

but I must p him," said Father. " Now hurry for 

we have a long w to go, and we want to st at 

the B as long as possible." 

Soon Farmer F drove up. His wagon was full of 

soft sweet h . Two big gr horses drew it. 4 .. 

Soon the family were in the wagon, the dog J , 



THE METHOD APPLIED 181 

1 on the h . The farmer called, the horses 

started, and the whole family, happy and g , were 

off to the B to spend the d in games and pi . 

At first the stories should be kept short, two or 
three sentences. Even, when long, the words of the 
iamily should be introduced at short intervals to 
keep up the interest and also in order to keep the 
sound of the family ever present. . 



CHAPTER XXXI 
BOOK ONE, Pages 48-55 

Rhyme X 

What does little birdie say 

In her nest at peep of day? 
"Let me fly," says little birdie, 

"Mother, let me fly away." 

"Birdie, rest a little longer. 
Till the little wings are stronger." 

So she rests a little longer, 
Then she flies away. 

her flies 

1. Teaching the rhyme. (1) Read the rhyme to 
the pupils, having them follow in their books. 
Then let them read it with you. 

(2) Ask questions on the rhyme somewhat like 
these : — 

Wliere was birdie.^ What time was it.^* What is 
meant by "peep of day".'^ (A simple explanation 
for the child: When the sun is just rising, just 
peeping over the earth, and the day is just begin- 
ning, we call that time the "peep of day.") What 
does birdie say? What does mother answer? Does 
birdie obey mother? 

182 



THE METHOD APPLIED 183 

(3) Read the rhyme with the pupils, you read- 
ing the narrative part while one pupil reads the 
part of "birdie" and another that of "Mother," 
like this : — 

Teacher. — What does little birdie say 

In her nest at peep of day? 
First Pupil. — Let me fly, {Teacher: says little birdie,) 

Mother, let me fly away. 
Second Pupil. — Birdie, rest a little longer. 

Till the little wings are stronger. 
Teacher. — So she rests a little longer. 

Then she flies away. 

Read the rhyme again in this way, letting all 
the pupils but "birdie" and "Mother" read with 
teacher. 

Repeat the reading as many times as desirable, 
letting different pupils take the parts of "birdie" 
and "Mother," and letting one or several pupils 
take the narrative part. 

This exercise will prove most interesting, and 
the new words of the rhyme will be learned almost 
without conscious effort. 

2. Phonics. In connection with the words wing, 
song, let, ran, last, care, and shade, teach series 19, 
20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, respectively. 

Do not hurry or slight the phonetic work; it 
is of fundamental importance. By varying the 
drills (see Chapters VII, 10; X, 10; XX, 8, and 



184 LEARNING TO READ 

XXIII, 7), and making them always quick and 
sharp, frequent but not too prolonged, this part 
of the work will be found stimulating and almost 
or quite as interesting as the reading itself or the 
dramatizing. 

3. Seat work that may be used advantageously 
from time to time. 

(1) With ordinary "word builders" let pupils 
copy from chart, blackboard, or cards, series al- 
ready studied. 

(2) Hektograph new series on heavy manila 
paper, then cut up into small cards, a word on 
each card. Place the words of three or four series 
in an envelope, providing an envelope for each 
child. Mark the outside of the envelope with the 
names of the families that it contains, as -et, -ill, 
-ing, if it contains series 21, 2, and 17. 

With the envelopes before them have the pupils 
point to each family written thereon and name it. 
Then let them empty the envelopes on their desks 
and arrange the words in families, like this: — 



get 


will 


sing 


fret 


pill 


wing 


set 


fill 


ring 



The order of the words, of course, does not 
matter, so long as they are correctly arranged in 
families. The teacher should look over pupils' 



THE METHOD APPLIED 185 

work sufficiently to see that it is rightly done. 
Pupils who make mistakes in their classification 
of words should be made to see their mistakes for 
themselves and to correct them. This exercise is 
to follow, not precede, the study of series on the 
Phonic Chart. 

(3) As soon as pupils can write, they may (a) 
copy a series that has just been studied; (b) choose 
from the chart one word from each of several 
assigned series already studied and copy it, as 
we, try, told, best, etc.; (c) write from memory as 
many words as possible of a given family, the 
teacher writing the name of the family on the 
board; (d) write one, two, or more words of each 
of several families that the teacher may write on 
the board. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

BOOK ONE, Pages 56 to the end 

1. The Rhymes. Up to this time the gradually 
growing independence of the pupil has rested 
largely on the memorized rhymes and the habit 
of ready reference to them when necessary. The 
rhyme has served a useful purpose, but the pupil 
should now be fast outgrowing the need of it, 
should soon be ready to abandon it altogether. To 
continue its use much longer will prove but a 
hindrance to the rapid progress that pupils are 
now prepared to make. Henceforth, the inde- 
pendence of the little readers must spring more 
and more from their rapidly growing practical 
knowledge of phonics. 

2. Dramatizing should be continued wherever the 
stories offer opportunity. The pupils should be 
allowed and encouraged more and more to plan 
and carry out the dramatizations for themselves. 
If this exercise has been well handled up to this 
time, there will be few, if any, pupils in the class 
who will not be desirous and capable of taking 
part naturally and earnestly in any dramatization. 
See Chapter I, Sec. 4. 

186 



THE METHOD APPLIED 187 

The following suggestions indicate the possi- 
bility of dramatizing several poems and stories. 

The poem on page 94, "The Little Plant," 
may be dramatized as follows : A pupil — the little 
plant — is curled up on the floor "fast asleep." 
Another pupil — the sunshine — touches the little 
plant gently and says, "Wake! and creep to the 
light." Then several pupils — the raindrops — 
gather around her and touch her softly, softly — 
the patter of the rain — and say, "Wake! wake! 
wake!" The little plant stirs, opens her eyes, 
stretches, sits up, then stands erect, and says, 
"How wonderful the outside world is!" 

The poem, "The Dandelion," page 120, may be 
read as a dialogue, one pupil taking the part of 
the dandelion and reading the even stanzas, and 
another pupil, or four pupils, taking the part of 
a pupil, or of two pupils, speaking to the dande- 
lion and reading the odd stanzas. 

"Waking the Flowers," page 86, may be drama- 
tized somewhat as follows: One pupil. Mother 
Nature, calls upon the wind, the April rain, and 
the sun — three other pupils — to call the flowers. 
Still other pupils represent the flowers. The action 
and dialogue follow the story. 

"The Star," page 100, may be dramatized as 
follows: A table, or the teacher's desk, may repre- 
sent the bank of clouds over which the little star 



188 LEARNING TO READ 

looks down on the flowers — several pupils sit- 
ting on the floor (the meadow). A pupil for the 
star and another for Mother Moon carry on the 
conversation of the story. As little star says, "I 
will, I will. Good-by, good-by," she quietly joins 
the flowers in the meadow. 

"Fairy Butterfly," page 104, affords opportunity 
for a simple dramatization. Pupils representing 
May, the fairy, the flowers, and Mother, follow 
the action and conversation in the story. 

Other stories suitable for dramatization are, 
"The White Lily," page 113; "The Caterpillar," 
page 116; "Why the Clover is Sweet," page 129; 
"The Bee and the Grasshopper," page l22; "The 
Crane Express," page 138; "Henny Penny," page 
131; "The Lady-Bird," page 142; "The Hungry 
Cat," page 147; and "The Fortune Seekers," 
page 151. 

3. Dramatic reading. One of the best means to 
secure intelligent interpretation of thought through 
suitable expression and phrasing, is found in dra- 
matic reading — reading in which the teacher or a 
pupil reads the narrative part, and other pupils 
read the conversation of the different characters 
in the story. While the pupils should do most 
of the reading, there are several distinct advan- 
tages in having the teacher read with them. The 
teacher sets a stimulating model in good reading; 



THE METHOD APPLIED 189 

the pupils respond with good reading, clear un- 
derstanding, and keen enjoyment. 

Omit entirely from this reading such short ex- 
pressions as, "said the boy," and "she said." To 
illustrate with the story, "Why the Clover is 
Sweet?" page 129, the reading would be as follows: 

Teacher: A little fairy flew to a daisy. 

Pupil {Fairy) : Dear Daisy, will you give me some 
honey .f* 

Another Pupil (Daisy) : No, go away. I want all the 
honey I have. I have none to spare for you. 

Teacher: The fairy flew away to a rose. 

Pupil (Fairy) : Beautiful Rose, will you give me some 
honey .f^ 

Another Pupil (Rose): You may have just a little. 

Pupil (Fairy) : Thank you. I will take none of your 
honey. You may keep it all. 

Stories beginning on the following pages are 
suitable for dramatic reading: 12, 16, 18, 20, 28, 
41, 45, 68, 75, 86, 96, 100, 104, 122, 129; also the 
last four stories in the book. 

The dramatic reading of a story should never be 
undertaken before the pupils have mastered all 
new words. It may well follow one or two read- 
ings in the usual way. It is a good way to "re- 
view" a story. 

4. Picture study. Every picture adds thought 
and interest to the text, and should be studied 



190 LEARNING TO READ 

carefully as a part of language work. See sugges- 
tions for picture studies in previous chapters. 

5. Phonics. Pupils must be made to depend more 
and more upon their growing knowledge of phonics 
to help them in the mastery of new words. As 
you have scrupulously refrained from telling a 
pupil a word that he was capable of getting out 
for himself by reference to some rhyme, so you 
must be equally scrupulous as the support of the 
rhyme is abandoned not to tell a pupil a word that 
he is capable of mastering for himself through 
phonic analysis. Help the pupil as much as neces- 
sary — not more — to apply the phonic knowledge 
that he has to the mastery of new words. For 
some time past your pupils should have been de- 
veloping the habit of readily getting out a new 
word without direct help when that word belongs 
to a series of which they already know some word, 
whether they have studied the series represented 
or not. For example, the new word might be 
spear; if they already know near, they should 
have no difficulty and there should now be little 
or no hesitation in getting out the new word. See 
Chapter I, Sec. 6. 

But the pupil's habit of mastering new words 
unaided should not be limited to phonetic words; 
he should be taught how to apply his phonetic 
knowledge to unphonetic words as well. If this 



THE METHOD APPLIED 191 

is done patiently and consistently, it will soon be 
a surprise and a delight to teacher and pupil to 
find that the pupil can master unaided almost 
any word that he is capable of understanding, be 
that word phonetic or unphonetic. Suppose the 
pupil meets such words as glimpse, puzzle, chirp; 
he knows all the consonant sounds, of which these 
words are largely composed; this knowledge ap- 
plied, together with the aid of the context, will 
enable him to get out the words readily and 
correctly. 

Words of many syllables, when analyzed, will 
be found to be quite easy. What difficulty do 
such words as zm me di ate ly, trans con ti nent at, 
in com pre hen si hil i ty present? None, except 
the analysis; the pupils know all the simple 
sounds and symbols of which they are composed. 
The fluent pronunciation of sesquipedalian words 
for the amazement of spectators, however, is not 
advocated. Your purpose is to make readers 
not of words but of ideas. 

The help which your pupils now most need is 
in the analysis of words into their simple sounds 
and sj^mbols to enable them to apply their pho- 
netic knowledge. Even this help should be given 
sparingly. Let the pupil first try to analyze the 
troublesome word himself; quite likely he will 
succeed. If he does not, his effort will show you 



192 LEARNING TO READ 

just what and just how much help you should 
give. 

The vocabulary, arranged alphabetically at the 
end of Book One, may profitably be used for 
drill in the sounds of certain combinations of 
consonants which occur frequently. Looking under 
h in that vocabulary we find three words beginning 
with bl, seven beginning with hr; under c, there are 
five beginning with cl, and six beginning with 
cr; under c?, there are four beginning with dr, and 
so on. The drill should consist in a careful and 
distinct pronunciation of these words, the pupil's 
attention being directed to the combination of 
initial consonants as he pronounces them. Prac- 
tice should then be given in pronouncing other 
words containing the same combinations of con- 
sonants. Such words may be both supplied by 
the teacher and found by the pupil in his reading 
and in the word, series. 

6. Use of the Phonic Chart. The study of the word 
series from the Phonic Chart, which has been well 
begun, must be continued daily and systematically, 
as already directed. The series are to be taken up 
for study, as heretofore, in connection ^ith the 
new series words as these occur in the reading 
lessons. This has been planned out for all the 
series of the Phonic Chart in such a way that 
their study and mastery is quite evenly distributed 



THE METHOD APPLIED 193 

throughout the study of Books One and Two. 
The appropriate time for taking up each series, 
in accordance with this plan, is indicated on the 
title page of the chart, also on page 190 of this 
book. There is no objection, however, to a more 
rapid mastery of the chart, provided this can be 
accomplished without devoting an undue portion 
of the reading time to this drill. Classes fre- 
quently complete the chart with the completion 
of Book One. 

Series once taught must be kept in constant 
review. It is profitable frequently to go over in 
succession several series which contain the same 
vowel or vowels with the same vowel sound. Pupils 
must form the habit of applying the knowledge of 
vowel sounds thus learned whenever there is oppor- 
tunity. If a pupil does not recognize at once et^ 
ill, ing, or any other type combination which he 
has had, he should not be told, but should be 
referred to the series of which that combination 
forms the base, and the series should be reviewed. 
Just as, in the beginning of their work, pupils 
had to refer to the rhymes for words not recog- 
nized, so now they must refer to the series for 
vowel combinations not recognized. 

Much variety should be introduced into the 
phonic drills. As soon as pupils have gained some 
power in the pronunciation of series, sounding and 



194 LEARNING TO READ 

combining readily the initial consonant or con- 
sonants with the constant vowel combination, 
they may take more difficult exercises. The 
teacher may write on the board the base of any 
series, selecting more or less familiar ones accord- 
ing to the power of the pupils, as at or ent. She 
then names different consonants, as h, s, t, sjp, 
which pupils are to prefix to the given base. The 
teacher should be careful to give only such con- 
sonants as combine with the base to make real 
words. This exercise is entirely oral. 

With several bases on the board, as ell, ill, it, 
ick, oat, etc., the teacher may name a consonant 
and require pupils to prefix it to as many of the 
bases as possible, making real words. With the 
consonant b, the pupil may give bell, bill, bit, and 
boat; with k, kill and Jdck. If pupils are made 
thoughtful in this exercise, it may prove of much 
value in enlarging their vocabulary and in teach- 
ing them to spell, as ^^eW as in drilling them in 
sounds and sound combinations. They should not 
be allowed thoughtlessly to combine sounds which 
make no word; they should be constantly required 
to tell the meaning of the words they make or to 
use them in sentences. 

It is safer to make this an oral exercise, as many 
words will be made quite correctly as to sound but 
incorrect in spelling, if written. For instance, in 



THE METHOD APPLIED 195 

the above illustration, koat might be given. In 
this case, let the teacher say, "No, coat is not 
spelled with a k. What other letter has the same 
sound?" Pupils should be able to answer at 
once. 

Many simpler exercises which have been begun 
before taking up regular drills with the series 
should still be kept up. Some of the best of them 
are the following: (1) The teacher sounds a letter 
or a combination of letters; the pupils name the 
letter or letters. (2) The teacher names a letter 
or combination of letters; pupils give sound. (3) 
The teacher spells words by giving the sounds of 
the letters in order; the pupils pronounce. (4) 
The teacher spells words by naming the letters; 
the pupils pronounce. (5) The teacher pronounces 
words and the pupils spell them, both by sounding 
and by naming the letters. This exercise should 
be written as well as oral, just as soon as the pupils 
are able to write. . . 

Series 171 and 172 are intended for drill upon the 
sound of the middle vowel as modified by final e. 
" E on the end makes the middle letter tell its name. " 

Series 173 to 203 are special test series. All the 
words of each of these series contain the same vowel 
and vowel sound, but the consonants which follow, 
as well as those which precede the vowel, vary. 
These series are used to advantage in testing the 



196 LEARNING TO READ 

pupil's power to recognize vowels and consonant 
sounds in constantly changing combinations. The 
use of these test series is not to be deferred until 
all the preceding series have been taken up. One 
test series, it will be observed, is devoted to each 
of the principal vowel sounds which have occurred 
in the regular series. After taking up a few of the 
regular series based on a given vowel and vowel 
sound, the test series based on the same vowel 
should be taken. For instance, series 173 is based 
on a. This series may well be tried after pupils 
have had the regular series, 5, 25, 57, which are 
also based on a. Work with series 173 should be 
reviewed frequently as other regular series in a, 
as 73, 75, 79, etc., are reached. 
y 7. Pupils' Phonic Drill Cards should be used daily, 
or several times a week, for individual exercise in 
developing and testing phonic power. See Chapter 
XXV, 5. 

8. Spelling. Although spelling is usually and 
quite properly regarded as a part of language work 
rather than of reading, there are ample reasons 
for giving here a few suggestions on this subject. 
Learning to spell, too often treated as the merely 
mechanical memorizing of the letters of a given 
number of words, ought to be and may easily be 
made an intelligent, thoughtful process full of 
educative value for the pupil. The work that has 



THE METHOD APPLIED 197 

been and is to be done in phonics is the best possi- 
ble preparation for learning to spell intelligently. 
The pupil may learn to apply his knowledge of 
phonics to spelling just as readily as to reading; 
and by doing this he may learn to spell just as 
intelligently and as independently as he is learn- 
ing to read. Rightly applied, the phonic power of 
your pupils is worth more than the mere memo- 
rized spelling of thousands of words. Indirectly 
the application of phonics to spelling will aid in 
reading. 

Here are several detailed plans which will prove 
interesting and effective. The rhyme cards (see 
Chapter II, Sec. 3) may be used as follows : — 

(1) Pupils study aloud with the teacher the 
spelling of every word in a rhyme, looking at each 
word carefully, pronouncing it distinctly, and spell- 
ing it orally. 

(2) Let each pupil of a group select any word he 
pleases on his rhyme card and study it to himself 
a moment. Then all pupils stand, and, holding 
cards behind them, each in turn pronounces and 
spells aloud the word he studied. If a pupil fails 
on his word, the teacher says, "Study it," and 
passes on to the next pupil. After all have spelled, 
she returns to those who failed and has them try 
again on the words which they have been restudy- 
ing on their cards. 



198 LEARNING TO READ 

(3) The teacher dictates words from the rhyme 
cards to be spelled orally. A pupil who misses a 
word must find that word on his card and study 
it while the spelling continues with the other 
pupils. Those who have missed spell their words 
later. 

(4) The rhyme cards may be used equally well 
for written spelling when pupils — toward the 
end of the first year — are able to write readily, 
(a) Words may be dictated from the cards to be 
written in column by pupils; (6) a whole rhyme 
may be dictated; or (c) pupils may be allowed to 
write all the words they can recall, either writing 
in columns or in complete rhymes. 

In these ways pupils will soon learn to spell 
all the words on the rhyme cards, a very service- 
able vocabulary for written language work. More 
and better than this, they will learn to concentrate 
their efforts definitely, to study the spelling of 
words effectively. 

The spelling of words in series and of "family" 
names alone is a most efi^ective way not only of 
mastering a large number of words, but, more 
important still, of training in analysis of sounds 
and representation of sounds by letters. 

(1) Spelling of words in series from the Phonic 
Chart. A series should be studied with the chart 
before the pupils. See that the "family" of the 



THE METHOD APPLIED 199 

series stands out distinctly for every pupil; then 
he has to think only of the initial consonant or 
consonants to enable him to spell any word in 
the series. After this study, let the chart be 
turned and words dictated distinctly for oral spell- 
ing. Before attempting to spell a word the pupil 
should always pronounce that word distinctly and 
think of the sounds of the word as he pronounces 
it. Thoughtful pronunciation is the basis of good 
spelling. 

(2) Pupils should be taught to spell all the 
"families" that form the basis of the series on the 
Phonic Chart. For this purpose the Phonetic 
Series Cards may be used; or the "families" 
may be studied and reviewed from the blackboard 
if the initial word of each series as learned is writ- 
ten and left there. The "families" should be 
written with colored crayon or underlined. 

Never tell a pupil, never allow a pupil to be told, 
how to spell a phonetic word. If he fails on such 
a word, make him tell the series to which the word 
belongs; if he cannot do this, point out the series 
to him and have him pronounce and sound several 
words of the series until you are sure that he 
recognizes his word as belonging to the series; then 
have him (a) spell the initial word, or any other 
word of the series that he knows, (6) name and 
spell the "family," (c) pronounce again the word 



200 LEARNING TO READ 

on which he failed, and (d) spell that word. It 
will not be necessary to go through this rather 
long process many times; it will usually suffice to 
have the pupil (a) sound the word on which he 
fails, (b) name the "family," (c) spell the "family," 
and (d) spell the word. 

All these exercises are designed to help pupils 
to spell — to help them to learn how to spell — 
not merely to test their memory of words that 
they have studied mechanically and unaided. 
There is a place for such bare tests, which require 
no pedagogic skill whatever, but they should 
occupy almost none of the teacher's time in the 
primary grades. What primary pupils most need 

— and grammar and even high school pupils, too 

— is to be taught how to study, how to learn, 
not to have tested what they have learned and to 
have that merely declared satisfactory or wanting. 
This is a general proposition which applies to any 
subject quite as well as to spelling. 

9. Reading. Let the teacher not forget for a 
moment that reading is thinking under direction; 
that every story or poem is a series of thoughts 
growing into one harmonious whole; that reading 
the story or poem consists primarily in thinking 
those thoughts, incidentally in giving them appro- 
priate expression, using the words of the printed 
page. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 201 

The stories read should be talked over and re- 
told, briefly or at length, by the pupils. 

10. Silent Reading. Pupils learn to read by read- 
ing — to read independently by reading inde- 
pendently. The best seat work in reading is 
silent reading at the desks. For this purpose 
pupils should have access to several easy and inter- 
esting books. Every first-grade room should be 
provided with one copy each of a large number of 
different Primers and First Readers, or books of 
similar grade, in addition to those to be read in 
class. These books are to be read silently and 
independently by the pupils at their seats. 

Informal tests should be frequently given on 
pupils' silent reading. They may be called upon 
to answer definite questions, to relate some story 
or part of a story. Occasionally a pupil may be 
given opportunity to read aloud something that 
he has found especially interesting. 

11. Making short rhymes for ear-training. 

(a) The teacher makes rhymes, pupils supply 
the name of the family needed to complete it. 

Examples 
Up the hill Jack broke his crown 
Went Jack and J . While coming d . 

Jill and Jack The cow's in the corn; 

Are coming b . Boy Blue, blow your h . 



202 



LEARNING TO READ 



This rhyming exercise should be carried over 
into Book Two, pupils writing the rhymes. 

(b) Pupils supply words in the rhyme that the 
teacher recites. Keep rhymes short and simple 
at first. 



I have a sled; 
It's painted (red). 

A motor car 
Can travel (far). 

Children sing, 
Glad bells (ring). 

Birds can fly 
To the (sky). 

Did you see 
The busy (bee)? 

Run and skip; 
Do not (trip). 

The wind blew, 
My kite (flew). 



Examples 

When you play 
Don't run (away). 

Spin your top; 
Don't let it (stop). 

Catch the ball; 
Don't let it (fall). 

The sun at night 
Gives us no (light). 

One night the moon 
Came out too (soon). 

Pussy fell 
Into the (well). 

Birds love best 
Their little (nest). 



Mother can make 
Good bread and (cake). 

Beneath the apple-tree I swing; 
Up above the robins (sing). 



LEARNING TO READ 203 

John and May 

Went out to (play) 

On a happy summer (day). 

One very warm and sunny day 
In the pleasant month of (May), 
We rode and rode so far (away), 
To have a picnic by the (bay); 
We ate our dinner from a (tray) 
And every one was glad and (gay). 

I threw my ball 
Across the (wall). 
But I did not see it (fall) 
For I am not very (tall). 

This is something we all know: 
When March winds begin to (blow), 
Driving oflf the ice and (snow). 
Little plants begin to (grow). 
Tiny buds begin to (show), 
Laughing brooks begin to (flow) 
And the birds fly high and (low). 



CHAPTER XXXIII 
BOOK TWO, Pages 1-36 

The Aldine Book Two is designed as a basal text 
to be used during the pupil's second year in school. 
While reading this book, pupils should read several 
supplementary books — books of the grade of ad- 
vanced first and second readers. But this book 
should be treated as their study book. The proper 
study of this book should lead to greater and surer 
facility in the mechanics of reading, and to truer, 
more appreciative interpretation of thought from 
the printed page. The study of this book should 
also help pupils to form habits of purposeful, defi- 
nite study. 

In order that the book may accomplish these 
purposes, the teacher must make a thoughtful study 
of each lesson. Before confronting her class she 
must prepare herself. Just what this preparation 
should be will depend upon the character of the 
lesson and the teacher's individuality of presenta- 
tion. But this preparation — be it what it may — 
must enable the teacher to secure for her children 
these six conditions and results that accompany and 

20i 



THE METHOD APPLIED 205 

follow all good reading: (1) a motive or purpose for 
the reading of a particular lesson; (2) an incentive 
to master new words; (3) an interest in the story 
of the lesson; (4) energy to think and reason for 
one's self; (5) an opportunity to test the inter- 
pretation of thought and emotion; (G) the joy of 
reading aloud to an audience. 
Each lesson should include: — 

(1) Preparation on the part of the teacher and 

pupils. 

(2) The necessary word and phonic drill. 

(3) Studying the lesson in detail. 

(4) Story reproduction, or dramatization. 

(5) A finished reading of the lesson. 

Work on one story may profitably extend over 
several days' recitations. 

The Phonic Chart and the pupils' Phonic Drill 
Cards should be used daily. For a description of 
the chart and suggestions concerning its effective 
use, see pages 46-47, 141-145; for the order of tak- 
ing up the series, see pages 216-217. Directions for 
the use of the pupils' Phonic Drill Cards accom- 
pany the set of cards. 

A detailed plan for presenting each lesson in the 
book is not desirable in this manual. A few sug- 
gestive notes on each lesson will indicate the possi- 
bilities of the various ways in which the little stories 
iand poems may be presented to the children. The 



206 LEARNING TO READ 

study of the first story in the book is presented in 
full as a type lesson. 

Out-of-door Neighbors 

Arouse an anticipative interest in the contents 
of this section by having the pupils tell what they 
think the stories in a section of that name will be 
about. Have them look at the pictures to see what 
they suggest regarding the character of the stories. 
When they answer in substance, "The stories will 
be about animals or people that live out of doors," 
read the titles of the stories and have the pupils tell 
if each animal mentioned is an out-of-door neighbor. 
. Why the Birds Sing Different Songs (p. 9). This is 
a Teacher-Pupil Story. That you may have clearly in 
your own mind the purpose of the Teacher-Pupil 
Story and that you may carry out this purpose, read 
paragraph 4, page 113, of this manual. 

1. Teacher's preparation. Read the story to your- 
self. If the children are not acquainted with the 
birds mentioned, bring to class pictures of these 
birds. 

Before having the children read the story, pre- 
pare them for an appreciative, interested approach. 
Ask such questions as these: — 

What birds have you heard sing? Do all birds 
sing the same song? Who can tell what the robin 
sings? the dove? the owl? the crow? the jay? 



THE METHOD APPLIED 207 

Show the pupils pictures of the birds. As you 
show each, tell them enough about its song to 
identify it. 

Tell the children that the story is going to tell 
how the birds learned the different songs. This 
will arouse their curiosity and interest. They will 
want to read to find out. That is the secret of the 
formation of the reading habit. 

2. Word drill. To establish a motive for the quick, 
sure mastery of words, ask such questions as these: 

Do you want to find out how the birds learned to 
sing different songs? Well, you can't read about it 
until you can read the words that tell about it. Do 
you want to read this story so that all who hear 
can understand and enjoy the story .f^ Can you read 
it so, if you can't say every word clearly.^ Then 
let us learn our words quickly and well, so that we 
can read the story soon, and enjoy it. 

The new words for each story are listed at the 
head of the lesson. Words belonging to families 
already taught are not listed. A few strictly pho- 
netic words that may be easily sounded, and some 
that can best be gained by the context are purposely 
omitted. 

(a) Sight words. Pronounce clearly, each sight 
word. Or some pupil who speaks distinctly and 
knows the sight word may pronounce it. Then 
let all the pupils pronounce it clearly and distinctly. 



208 LEARNING TO READ 

Use or have the pupils use each word in a sentence. 
Repeat or read the sentence, or sentences, in the 
lesson that contains the word: Thus, "Let us each 
learn a new song." "Let us choose the sweetest 
sound we hear and make it into a song." 

(b) Phonic words. Have the children pronounce 
first the old word, the word enclosed in parenthesis; 
then let them sound and pronounce the new word 
printed underneath. When a phonetic word belongs 
to a Phonic Chart series, as love, series 93, have a 
quick drill from the chart on all the words in the 
series. Give, or have given, the meaning of the 
new words; then have them used in sentences and 
repeated in the story context the same as with the 
sight words. 

The word and phonic drill should be short, con- 
centrated, quick. During it the children should 
have in mind its purpose — preparation for the 
enjoyable reading of the story. 

3. Studying the story. Read the story with the 
children. Display in your reading such interest and 
enthusiasm that the children will unconsciously 
follow your lead, and render the story clearly and 
vividly. 

Stop from time to time to ask a question, or to 
make a suggestion that will encourage an expres- 
sion of feeling on the part of the children or bring 
out a more appreciative reading of a sentence. For 



THE METHOD APPLIED 209 

example, after reading the Teacher's first paragraph, 
say, — "In the next paragraph somebody is going 
to tell the birds to learn different songs. Read the 
paragraph through to find out who it is." After 
the pupils answer that the robin told the other birds 
to learn different songs, say, — "Read just what 
the robin said." 

Such a procedure will generally bring out clear, 
interpretative reading. If, however, a child still 
reads words instead of thought, ask the other chil- 
dren, — "If you were the other birds and the robin 
spoke to you like that, would you want to learn 
another song.'^" By such questions the essentials 
of oral reading are clearly brought out in a way 
that the youngest or slowest child can appreciate. 
It becomes evident that the reader must (1) under- 
stand and feel what he reads, (2) read so that 
others can understand and feel the author's thought. 
In reading the paragraph under discussion, the 
reader must (1) understand the robin's words and 
feel the reason for speaking them, and (2) he must 
read the robin's words, so that the others may 
understand them and feel like doing what the robin 
proposes. 

The above Is merely suggestive of the method of 
questioning the pupils to arouse in them the need 
of an intelligent rendering of a story. 

4. Reproducing the story. After the story has been 



210 LEARNING TO READ 

read and discussed by the teacher and pupils, have 
it reproduced so that the children may get the 
story events in the proper order. Prepare an out- 
line or a series of questions that you may use in 
guiding the children, as: — 

In the long ago time how many songs did the 
birds know? Who thought it would be a fine thing 
to learn different songs? How did the owl learn 
his song? The crow and the jay? The robin? The 
thrush? The dove? 

Follow this oral reproduction with some ques- 
tions to bring out original thought and application, 
as: — 

Which bird, do you think, learned the sweetest 
song? Why? 

Which birds are you sorry for? Why? 

If any bird had come to listen to you, would he 
have learned a sweet song or a harsh, cross song? 

If the children that the crow and the jay listened 
to had been speaking kindly, and laughing, v/hat 
kind of song would those birds be singing now? 

5. Dramatizing the story. If the story is to be 
dramatized, let the children name and choose the 
characters needed. This particular story may be 
easily dramatized simply by following the events. 
Remember that all dramatization has for its pur- 
pose the free individual expression of the children 
— the expression that is the result of their under- 



THE METHOD APPLIED 211 

standing of the story and entering into the feehngs 
and emotions of the characters. Ko finished prod- 
uct is required or desired. 

6. Reading the story. The children are now ready 
to read the story intelligently and appreciatively. 
Encourage them to volunteer to read the teacher's 
part. 

The above may be considered a general guide for 
the preparation, study, and reading of a story. The 
suggestions for the other lessons touch only one or 
two special features for each. 

The Grasshopper and the Dove (p. 15). Let the 
children read this in dialogue form, one reading 
the words of the grasshopper, another the words of 
the dove. Omit all such expressions as, "he said," 
"cried the dove." 

At the end of the study say, "All fables were 
written to teach us a lesson. \Miat lesson does 
this fable teach .f*" If the pupils cannot answer, 
direct their attention to the last sentence. Ask, 
— "Does this mean that we must be kind to ani- 
mals.'* To one another?" 

The Proud Crow (p. 20). In studying this lesson 
let the children show instead of telling the meaning 
of certain phrases and words, as: — 

Show how the crow looked when he found the 
peacock feathers. How he stuck them in his back. 
How he strutted. How he looked when he said, 



212 LEARNING TO READ 

"Do not speak to me." How he tried to steal in 
among the other crows. How the peacocks looked 
when they said, "Fine feathers, indeed!" 

This is another way of testing the children's 
power to visualize and feel the story. Use this 
method in other lessons whenever possible. 

This is an opportune time for a drill on the ed 
endings. Write on the board a list of verbs that 
the pupils already know. Begin the list with words 
from this lesson — laughed, strutted, pulled, croaked, 
answered. Listen for the sound of the final con- 
sonant. 

The Wolf and the Kid (p. 25). After the first study, 
call the children's attention to the fact that the wolf 
and the kid were so different that their voices and 
ways of talking must have been most unlike. Let 
them close their books while you read bits of con- 
versation. Have them tell from your voice who 
is speaking — the wolf or the kid. Then give some 
sentences — not in the story — that either might 
have said, and have the children tell from your 
voice who is speaking. Thus you might say, — 
"I have come to the woods to look for something 
to eat." If you repeat these words in a harsh, gruff 
manner, the children will say, "The wolf is speak- 
ing." If you repeat them in soft, gentle tones, the 
pupils will credit them to the lamb. This is an 
excellent device for showmg forth the characteris- 



THE METHOD APPLIED 213 

tics of story folks. The pupils will not only imitate 
you in their reading, they will express themselves 
correctly and effectively because they know the 
characters. 

In connection with the lesson have a drill on 
words ending in er. Have on the board a list of 
words headed by these from the lesson - — faster, 
louder, livelier. 

Queer Chickens (p. 30). Choose children for the 
old. hen and her little ones. Let these dramatize 
the events, while the rest of the class are reading 
the narrative. 

Little Ducks (p. 35). All poems should be read 
to the pupils before they try to read them. Poetry 
was written to make appeal through the ear. Only 
so can children get the rhythm. This poem may be 
read in three parts; one child should read the words 
of the old hen (stanzas 1 and 2), another child 
should read the narrative part in the third stanza, 
and a third, the words of the little duck in the same 
stanza. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 
BOOK TWO, Pages 37-62 

Once upon a Time 

The title suggests the kind of story to be found 
in this section. Ask: — 

"If I say, 'Once upon a time,' what do you think 
I am going to do?" The children's obvious answer 
will be, "Tell us a story." That is just what this 
section in the reader will do, — tell stories, old 
stories some of them, that have been told for many 
years. 

That is the main purpose of the following lessons; 
that is what the pupils must look for — the story, 
not a feading lesson. Their attitude will determine 
their interest and pleasure in the work. 

The Caterpillar (p. 39). Arouse interest by telling 
the pupils that this little rhyme is a riddle. When 
you have read it to them, let them guess the answer. 
Change the rhyme into a once-wpon-a-time story. 
Begin, — 

Once upon a time a little caterpillar was crawling 

upon the ground. A little girl saw it and with a 

stick pushed it away, saying, "Go away, you ugly 

old thing!" 

214 



THE METHOD APPLIED 215 

By-and-by the caterpillar spun a cocoon about 
itself and went to sleep. When the little girl saw 
it she said, "The fellow is dead," and threw him 
away. 

One bright morning in spring he awoke and 
made a hole in the cocoon and came out — not an 
ugly caterpillar, but a beautiful butterfly. Then 
the little girl said, "O beautiful butterfly, stay 
and play with me." But the butterfly flew off to 
live among the flowers. 

Let the children dramatize the story, supplying 
the words that the caterpillar and butterfly might 
have used, — when called an "ugly old thing," 
when thrown away, when asked to stay. 

Who Is Strongest? (p. 41). The repetition in this 
story makes it easy to read and dramatize. The 
pupils should tell in their own words what the story 
teaches. They should apply it to themselves, — 
when they fall or are hurt, they must not cry, but 
jump up and run off. This is the way to prove that 
they are strongest. 

This lesson affords another excellent opportu- 
nity for drill in the ed ending. Have list of words 
from the lesson on the board — climbed, uprooted, 
creaked, stopped, burrowed, squeaked, frightened, 
mewed, barked, hooked, bellowed, buzzed, robbed, 
growled, roared, burned, snapped. 

The Dark Place (p. 51). After studying the story 



216 LEARNING TO READ 

with the pupils, make sure that they understand 
the lesson contained in it. Darkness means simply 
that the light is not there. Many a child has been 
cured of all fear of the dark just by realizing this 
fact. A dramatization of the story in which a 
child (the sunbeam) carries an electric hand light 
into a dark closet makes the teaching most vivid. 

The Ant and the Mouse (p. 57). For final reading 
have this story read in parts, several pupils reading 
the narrative, one pupil reading Miss Mouse's 
words, and others representing the other characters 
in the story. 

Have a drill on words ending in }y. Head the 
list for study with words from this lesson — sweetly, 
quickly, hardly. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

BOOK TWO, Pages 63-90 

Songs of Life 

Help the pupils to discover why this chapter is 
so named. From titles note that there is a brook 
song, a song to the violet, wind songs, mother songs, 
and moon songs. Ask the children what other 
songs might be given in this chapter — songs of 
birds, bees, crickets, etc. 

The Brook (p. 65). Read the poem to the class. 
Have the pupils find words that tell how the brook 
flows. Let them tell why different words are used: 
for example, rushes, first stanza, because the 
brook is running down steep hills; glides, second 
stanza, over level meadow. To make sure that 
pupils get this word value, ask them what would 
happen to a leaf or chip dropped into the brook. 
On the hills how would it travel? In the meadow? 

A True Story (p. 67). A little city boy really had 
this experience. Every child can be made to under- 
stand and enjoy his adventure. The dramatiza- 
tion of certain scenes in the story, during the study- 
ing of the lesson, will help the pupils to feel and 
understand it better: How Dick put his foot into 

217 



218 LEARNING TO READ 

the icy water and pulled it out crying "ouch!" 
Wading and splashing, Dick tried to see how 
quietly he could walk — putting foot down with- 
out a sound. Down went his foot with a loud 
splash; etc. 

Let the children tell the story the frogs told their 
mother. 

[ Calling the Violet (p. 74). Read the poem to the 
pupils. Suggest that a child sing the little song to 
wake the violet in the spring. The birds (other 
children) sing the song with the child. Dramatize: 
let one child be violet, while another reads the 
poem. If the reader really coaxes, the violet will 
come out. The purpose of the reading must be to 
persuade. 

The Wind (pp. 75-7G). Read both poems to the 
children. Compare them. In the first there is no 
imagination, just the bald statement; no one has 
seen the wind, but we know it is blowing softly — 
a little breeze — when the leaves tremble. We 
know it is blowing fiercely — a loud blast — when 
the strong trees bend. 

In the second poem we have the child's fancy. 
The wind is a person. It does things — tosses 
kites, blows, birds, trails over the grass, pushes 
children, plays hide and seek, calls aloud. It causes 
wonder. You are so strong, are you a great beast 
that roams through the fields and flies through the 



THE METHOD APPLIED 219 

tree? You are so full of life and fun, are you a 
child like me? 

Ask pupils: Wliat does the wind do that makes 
you think he is a great strong beast? What does he 
do that makes you think he is a child who likes to 
play? 

Let each pupil choose the poem he prefers and 
study it, so that he can read it well. Encourage 
pupils to memorize one of the poems by reading 
the whole poem over and over until they know it. 

The Wind's Surprise (p. 78). Read the title to 
the children. Tell them to read the story through 
silently to find out for themselves what surprised 
the wind. When they have finished let them tell 
you what the surprise was. 

This is the first lesson that the pupils are asked 
to read silently. More and more such lessons must 
be assigned. Before letting the pupils read silently, 
give them a purpose for this reading. When they 
have finished, make sure that they have read with 
that purpose in mind, and that the purpose has 
been realized. 

Dramatize the story presenting it in two parts, 
(1) the wind's adventure with the first boy, (2) the 
wind's adventure with the second boy. 

Sweet and Low (p. 81); Sleep, Baby, Sleep (p. 85). 
Read these poems to the pupils. By your manner 
and voice create the proper lullaby atmosphere. 



220 LEARNING TO READ 

Give the pupils the picture setting. In the first 
poem, a mother is singing to her baby. She asks 
the wind to bring the baby's father home. Why is 
the father at sea? Is he a sailor, a fisherman, a 
traveller? In the second poem, what is the father's 
occupation? The simile of the stars and moon 
appeal to the children and stimulate their imagina- 
tion. 

Baby-Land (p. 82). At first read one of the parts 
yourself, letting children read others. 

Sleep, Baby, Sleep (p. 85). 

How We Got Our First Daisies (p. 86). Show pic- 
tures of stars and daisies that children may see the 
resemblance. Let them cut stars and from the stars 
cut daisies to show the change. See that they do 
not omit the yellow center ■ — the moon kiss. 

Lady Moon (p. 89). Suggest to pupils that the 
moon must see many things as she looks down on 
the earth. Let them ask questions that they would 
really like the moon to answer. You or some child 
may be the moon and answer these questions. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

BOOK TWO, Pages 93-125 
With Nature's Children 

A LITTLE talk about Mother Nature and her 
children — those who live simply in the great out- 
of-door world — will give the children the right story 
atmosphere. 

Discontent (p. 93). Read the poem to the chil- 
dren. Discuss the story with them, asking such 
questions as these: Wliy was the buttercup silly? 
How would she look with a daisy frill around her 
cup? Would they love her as well if she were not 
able to shine under their chins, and tell them 
whether or not they like butter? Did the robin 
tell her the truth? If you were the robin, what 
else would you say? Don't spend much time hav- 
ing the pupils read this story. Consider this chiefly 
a teacher's story to be read by her and discussed 
with the children. 

Belling the Cat (p. 96). Take plenty of time to 
study this story with the children before letting 
them read it. Bring out the contrasts in which 
this lesson abounds — the rats before the cat came 
to the barn and after; the cat when he came and 
the rats; happy cats make unhappy rats, etc. 

221 



222 LEARNING TO READ 

Three of Us Know (p. 104). Before reading this 
poem to the children, ask them to listen so as to 
be able to tell you who the three are. Have the 
pupils tell where the bee spends the day, the bird, 
the child; where each goes at night. What does 
each know.'' The bee knows that the rose and the 
hive are best; the bird knows that the tree and 
nest are best ; the child knows that the singing brook 
by day and the cozy house by night are best. Let 
the children make a dialogue in which each tells 
what is best. Define, greenwood, close, singeth, 
ballad. 

At this time have a drill on words ending in est. 
Head the list for study with words from this poem 
and those words already used, — greenest, sweet- 
est, strongest, darkest, dearest. 

The Dandelion (p. 106). Have the final reading in 
dialogue form, one child speaking for the dande- 
lion, and another representing the person speaking 
to the dandelion. Let the pupils suggest who this 
person might be — a child, a man with a lawn- 
mower cutting the grass, etc. Have children read 
the line in stanza using the word gild. 

The Magpie's Lesson (p. 108). In studying this 
lesson call attention to the words that are used in 
place of said, — begged, broke in, cried, put in, 
sang, spoke up, went on, yawned, hooted. The chil- 
dren will enjoy finding these words if you direct them, 



THE METHOD APPLIED 223 

The Bluebird (p. 114). Let the children memorize 
ai\d dramatize the bluebird's song, stanzas 3 and 4. 

The Wolf and the Stork (p. 116). Let the children 
read this lesson silently, reproduce it orally, and 
discuss freely the wolf's behavior. 

The Indian Mother's Lullaby (p. 118). After read- 
ing this lullaby to the children ask them what the 
Indian baby saw and heard that a baby in their 
homes could not see or hear. This will help to give 
the poem-picture — the Indian baby out in the 
little forest wigwam. Note the sleepy rhythm and 
rhyme of the third line in the first three stanzas. 
Have the pupils read these lines clearly and dis- 
tinctly for the rhythm and for drill in the ing 
endings. 

The Boaster and the Baby (p. 120). The hominess 
of the picture of the baby with his toe in his mouth, 
and the humor of the story appeal to all children. 
But the lesson of the story must not be neglected. 
Even second-year children can appreciate the old 
proverb — Do well and boast not. 

Let the children tell why the Indian stories are 
in the chapter, "With Nature's Children." 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

BOOK TWO, Pages 127-156 

In Stoky Land 

Let the children look at the pictures and the 
story titles in this chapter and tell why it is so 
named. 

How Mrs. White Hen Helped Rose (p. 129). 
After the necessary preparation and study let the 
children read this story in dialogue form, one child 
reading the narrative, and the others the words 
of the different characters. Have a free dramati- 
zation of the story before the final reading. 

The Sandman (p. 136). Before reading this poem 
have a talk with the children about the sandman. 
If they will recall how they, or their smaller brothers 
and sisters, rub their eyes when they get sleepy, 
just as they do when they get sand or dust in them, 
they can understand why sleep is called the sand- 
man. Speculation about the sandman appeals to 
the children and develops the imagination, as — 
Is he old because he has been putting children 
to sleep for so many years? "He has to go to 
lots of children everywhere" — where does he go? 
What lands can the children name? what peoples? 

224 



THE METHOD APPLIED 225 

How many children in this school does he visit 
every night? Are all his dreams pretty? What 
was the prettiest dream he ever gave you? Are 
his shoes silken so that he can walk softly? Did 
anyone ever see him? Why not? Read other 
sandman poems to the children. Several good 
ones maybe found in "The Home Book of Verse," ^ 
such as, "When the Sleepy Man Comes," by Charles 
G. D. Roberts; "The Sandman," by Margaret 
Thompson Janvier; and "The Dustman," by 
Frederick Edward Weather ly. 

Lazy Jack (p. 140). The form In which this is 
written suggests how it is to be read — in narrative 
and dialogue. It may be easily dramatized. Read 
to the children "Epaminondas and His Auntie," the 
African version of this old, old tale, which may be 
found in "Stories to Tell to Children," by Sarah 
Cone Bryant. 

^ Compiled by Burton E. Stevenson (Henry Holt). 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

BOOK TWO, Pages 157-182 

Some Things to Think About 

Tell the pupils that every story in this chapter 
has something for them to think about, and ask 
them after the reading of each lesson what they 
have found to think about. This will not only 
give them a purpose for each lesson, but will 
enable them, with your help, to express the gist 
of each story in simple language. 

When the Little Boy Ran Away (p. 159). Read this 
poem to the children so impressively that they can 
feel the change from bright calm summer to the 
darkness and uproar of a thunderstorm, and that 
they can appreciate the fearfulness of running away 
from home and loving care. Let them show you 
how the wind coaxed "follow me" in the first 
stanza; shouted it gleefully in the second; screamed 
it fearfully in the third ; roared it wrathf ully in the 
fourth. Contrast with the wind's voice, the voice 
of the birds, the violet, the thunder, the owl, the 
moon. Dramatize the story before the final reading. 
Explain, Icin, leapfrog, rills. 



THE METHOD APPLIED 227 

Let the children have a study period in which 
each selects the stanza he would like to read aloud 
during the reading period. 

How the Bean Got Its Black Seam (p. 164). Let the 
children find the words used in place of said. With 
them find the words that are the names of noises 
and try to make each vivid, as, — snapped, crackled, 
gurgling, roaring. Words that show how things 
moved, as, — flew, dropped, rolled, sprang, etc. The 
children enjoy such lessons, and they are helpful 
in building up a large vocabulary. 

If possible bring into the classroom a few white 
beans "with black seams." 

Friends (p. 171). After reading, retell the story in 
prose. Let the children dramatize it. Explain tender 
sweet things. 

Help One Another (p. 173). This poem's teaching 
is much the same as that of the poem. Friends. 
Let the pupils tell why. Explain, ^eec?/ hed, maple 
spray, fellow leaves, wither, ere. 

The King of the Birds (p. 175). Before the final 
reading, have the pupils dramatize this story. The 
pupils have now learned why the birds sing dif- 
ferent songs, why they build different nests, and 
how they chose a king. Group these three stories 
for a review reading lesson. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

BOOK TWO, Pages 183-213 

With Our Feathered Friends 

A GLANCE at the illustrations in this chapter, and 
a reading of the story titles, will account for the 
chapter heading. 

The Drowning of Mr. Leghorn (p. 185). The teach- 
er's part in the reading of this story is simply that 
of setting the pace in close phrasing, swing of events, 
and expression. Have the children note the words 
that are used to denote the noise each character 
makes to add to the confusion, — screaming, cack- 
ling, creaking, slamming, banging, etc. Call atten-. 
tion to the fact — by illustration, perhaps — that 
many of these words sound like the noise they 
name. Write a list of these words on the board and 
have the pupils read them for drill in pronouncing 
the final g. Dramatize the story before the final 
reading, which may be in dialogue form with one 
child reading the narrative parts. 

The Starving of Mrs. Leghorn (p. 195). During the 
study of this lesson have parts quickly dram_atized 
by asking the pupils to show Jiow Mr, Jieghorn ran 

228 



THE METHOD APPLIED 229 

around searching for nuts; how he acted when he 
brought one to Mrs. Leghorn, etc. 

Mr. and Mrs. Leghorn to the Rescue (p. 208). The 
second assignment to be read by the teacher in- 
chides the first words spoken by the big and Httle 
frogs. Read this in a manner to suggest the croak- 
ing of the frogs. Beyond this do nothing to antici- 
pate the cHmax of the story. 

For an afternoon's entertainment the three stories 
in this chapter may be combined and dramatized 
as the "Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Leghorn." 



CHAPTER XL 
THE PHONIC CHART 



INDEX BY SERIES 





A 










A 






Vowels 


Series 


No. 


Page 


Vowels 


Series 


No. 


Page 


a 


as in pi ace 


57 


9 




a as in h ap 


59 


9 


a 


" b ack 


6 


3 




a 


' f ar 


82 


12 


a 


gl ad 


28 


6 




a 


' we ar 


117 


16 


a 


" m ade 


25 


5 




a 


' h ard 


141 


18 


a 


br ag 


162 


19 




a 


' c are 


24 


5 


a 


age 


79 


12 




a 


' 1 arge 


170 


20 


a 


" p aid 


138 


17 




a 


' h ark 


67 


10 


a 


" s ail 


84 


12 




a 


arm 


153 


19 


a 


" r ain 


34 


6 




a 


' st art 


148 


18 


a 


" f aint 


159 


19 




a 


ash 


92 


13 


4 


" f air 


47 


8 




a 


' ask 


157 


19 


a 


" m ake 


75 


11 




a 


gr ass 


96 


14 


a 


" p ale 


111 


15 




a 


last 


23 


5 


a 


" w alk 


110 


15 




a 


t aste 


116 


16 


a 


all 


4 


2 




a 


at 


10 


3 


a 


" am 


53 


8 




a 


g ate 


85 


13 


a 


" c ame 


73 


11 




a 


' c atch 


58 


9 


a 


" c an 


22 


5 




a ' 


g ave 


114 


15 


a 


" pr ance 


156 


19 




a ' 


s aw 


56 


9 


a 


" and 


18 


4 




a ' 


y awn 


131 


17 


a 


" c ane 


155 


19 




a ' 


d ay 


5 


2 


a 


" h ang 


101 


14 




a ' 


bl aze 


146 


18 


a 


" th ank 

E 


71 


11 






E 






Vowels 


Series 


No. 


Page 


Vowels 


Series 


No. 


Page 


e 


IS in p ea 


52 


8 




e as in d eer 


74 


11 


e 


r each 


91 


13 




e ' 


feet 


35 


6 


6 


" d ead 


70 


10 


] 


e ' 


' eight 


145 


18 



232 



LEARNING TO READ 



E 


Continued 






E 


Continued 






Vowels 


Series 


No. 


Page 


Vowels 


Series 


No. Page 


e 


as in sp eak 


77 


11 


e 


as in p eep 


15 


4 


e 


m eai 


122 


16 


6 


" t ell 


26 


5 


e 


" dr earn 


103 


U 


6 


" f elt 


144 


18 


e 


b ean 


150 


18 


6 


" th en 


11 


3 


e 


1 eap 


104 


14 


6 


" wh ence 


100 


14 


e 


d ear 


37 


7 


e 


end 


132 


17 


e 


" east 


76 


11 


6 


" w ent 


123 


16 


e 


eat 


55 


9 


e 


clev er 


140 


18 


6 


" w eather 62 


9 


e 


" ov er 


48 


8 


e 


" 1 eave 


134 


17 


6 


dr ess 


109 


15 


e 


" n eck 


118 


16 


6 


" n est 


8 


3 


6 


" fed 


12 


3 


6 


get 


21 


5 


e 


" s ee 


1 


2 


6 


" str etch 


163 


20 


e 


" d eed 


63 


10 


e 


" cl ever 


140 


18 


e 


" s eek 


112 


15 


ew 


" gr ew 


81 


12 


e 


" f eel 


167 


20 


ew 


" n ew 


7 


3 


e 


" s een 


106 


15 











WELS Series 


No. 


Page 


Vowels 


Series 


No. Page 


I as in ice 


78 


12 


I as 


m f ind 


43 


7 


i " ch ick 


72 


11 




' p ine 


95 


14 


I " k id 


69 


10 




s ing 


19 


4 


i " h ide 


38 


7 




' s ingle 


126 


17 


I " cr ied 


86 


13 




' th ink 


40 


7 


1 " fl ies 


89 


13 




' t ip 


83 


12 


i " 1 ife 


125 


16 




g irl 


154 


19 


1 " d iff 


133 


17 




' sk irt 


102 


14 


i " 1 ift 


97 


14 




' th is 


88 


13 


i " b ig 


44 


7 




' tw ist 


149 


18 


i " n ight 


30 


6 




it 


3 


2 


i " h ill 


2 


2 




k ite 


36 


6 


i " h im 


46 


8 




' h ive 


68 


10 


T " t ime 


33 


6 


y 


* fly 


14 


4 


i " in 


64 


10 











THE PHONIC CHART 



233 





















k^OWELS 


Series 


No. 


Page 


Vowels 


Series 


No. 


Page 


6 


as ia oak 


139 


17 


6 as in t op 


17 


4 


o 


" r oar 


U7 


18 


o ' 


m ore 


158 


19 


6 


" c oat 


98 


14 


6. 


' m orn 


60 


9 


6 


" r ob 


90 


13 


d ' 


' r ose 


32 


6 


6 


" r ock 


51 


8 


6 


m OSS 


99 


14 


6 


" s oft 


115 


16 


6 


I ost 


113 


15 


6 


1 og 


105 


15 


6 


' n ot 


66 


10 


o 


" sp oke 


124 


16 


o ' 


' n ote 


136 


17 


o 


old 


16 


4 


ou ' 


' 1 oud 


31 


6 


5 


" h ole 


121 


16 


ou ' 


' ought 


61 


9 


o 


r oil 


107 


15 


ou ' 


f ound 


27 


5 


o 


" d ome 


135 


17 


ou ' 


m ouse 


165 


20 


6 


" p ond 


142 


18 


ou ' 


' out 


87 


13 


6 


" sh one 


41 


7 


6 ' 


' 1 ove 


93 


13 


6 


1 ong 


20 


5 


6 ' 


' r ove 


108 


15 


do 


" g ood 


164 


20 


d ' 


' over 


48 


8 


do 


" r oof 


143 


18 


d ' 


' gr ow 


13 


4 


do 


" 1 ook 


54 


9 


ow ' 


' n ow 


9 


3 


do 


" c ool 


65 


10 


o\v ' 


' owl 


128 


17 


do 


" s oon 


29 


6 


d ' 


' own 


168 


20 


do 


" h oot 


137 


17 


ow ' 


d OWTl 


42 


7 










oy 


b oy 


166 


20 





U 








u 






Vowels 


Series 


No. 


Page 


Vowels 


Series 


No. 


Page 


ii 


as in 1 uck 


50 


8 


ti as in b unch 


160 


19 


ii 


" b ud 


130 


17 


u 


" s ung 


49 


8 


u 


" bl ue 


152 


18 


u 


up 


94 


14 


a 


" sn ug 


120 


16 


xi 


" c url 


127 


17 





" en ough 


129 


17 


<i 


" t urn 


169 


20 


ii 


d uU 


119 


16 


ti 


" h usli 


151 


18 


a 


" j ump 


80 


12 


ii 


" m ust 


39 


7 


n 


" s un 


45 


8 


ti 


but 


161 


19 



234 



LEARNING TO READ 



Miscellaneous Words for Application and Drill 



Vowel Sounds 

short 

long (final e) 



al 

ar 

au 

aw 

a 

au 

ee 

ea 

e 

e 

ea 



No. 


Page 


Vowel Sounds 


171 


20 


er 


172 


20 


le 


173 


21 




m 


21 




175 


21 




176 


22 


ir 


177 


22 


o 


178 


22 


oa 


179 


22 


GO 


180 


22 


o 


181 


23 


or 


182 


23 


ou 


183 


23 


oi 


184 


23 


u 


185 


24 


u 


186 


24 


u 



No. 


Page 


188 


24 


189 


24 


190 


25 


191 


25 


192 


25 


193 


26 


194 


26 


195 


26 


196 


26 


197 


26 


198 


26 


199 


27 


201 


27 


200 


27 


202 


27 


203 


27 



187 24 



ORDER OF TAKING UP THE SERIES 

Book One 



Page 
9 


Series 
1 


10 


2-4 


15 


6 


16 


5,7 


19 


8, 10 


27 


9 


28 


11, 12 


32 


13, 14 


41 


15, IG 


44 


17 



45. 



.18 



Page Series 

49 19-21 

51 22 

54 23-25 

56 26,27 

61 28 

67 29 

68 30 

86 31, 32 

94 34,37 

95 33 

98 35, 36 



THE PHONIC CHART 235 



Book One Continued 

100 38 124 48 

103 39 131 50, 51 

104 40 138 52, 53 

113 41-43 142 49, 54 

116 44, 45 147 55, 56 

120 46, 47 151 57, 58 



Book Two 

Page Series Page Series 

9 86, 93, 94 89 108, 111 

15 96 93 114, 117-119 

18 61, 62, 64 96 85, 120-122, 124, 164 

20 63, 65, 66, 95 106 126, 127 

25 67-70, 128 107 129-135, 137, 138, 143 

30 71-76, 84, 92, 103 145 114 136, 152 

40 77-79,81, 147 116 123 

51 110 129 140-142 

57 60, 88, 90, 91, 113 138 112, 139 

65 89 140 144 

67 80, 83, 105, 125, 153 150 116 

71 97,99 159 104, 115, 149 

75 101 164 146, 150, 151 

76 102 175 148, 161 

78 59 185 100, 154-156, 158 

81 107 195. . .-98, 157, 159, 160, 162, 163, 

82 87, 106 165, 170 

85 109 208 82, 166-169 



236 




LEARNING TO 


READ 




1 


2 


3 


4 


clay 


see 


hill 


it 


all 


slay 


tree 


till 


sit 


tall 


nay 


be 


fill 


bit 


fall 


pay 


bee 


bill 


fit 


hall 


ray 


me 


will 


hit 


call 


dray 


he 


mill 


lit 


stall 


pray 


ye 


kill 


mit 


ball 


gray 


she 


pill 


wit 


wall 


bay 


the 


spill 


whit 


small 


fay 


we 


sill 


split 


squall 


spray 


three 


still 


knit 


a 


fray 


fee 


rill 


pit 


5 


bray 


flee 


drill 


tit 


day 


tray 


knee 


skill 


flit 


say 


stray 


free 


frill 


slit 


may 


way 


lee 


quill 


quit 


gay 


sway 


glee 


chill 


grit 


hay 


jay 


ee 


ill 


spit 


lay 


stay 


e 


• 

1 


[2] 


play 


a 





THE P] 


HONIC CHART 




237 


6 


7 


pest 


10 


II 


back 


new 


test 


at 


then 


crack 


Jew 


vest 


hat 


hen 


Jack 


few 


blest 


cat 


den 


pack 


hew 


quest 


bat 


men 


hack 


dew 


guest 


fat 


pen 


lack 


mew 


wrest 


tat 


ten 


black 


knew 


e 


that 


when 


slack 


pew 


9 


chat 


wren 


clack 


stew 


now 


mat 


e 


knack 


ew 


how 


pat 


12 


rack 


8 


bow 


spat 


fed 


track 


nest 


cow 


rat 


red 


sack 


best 


sow 


sat 


led 


tack 


west 


scow 


vat 


fled 


stack 


rest 


prow 


slat 


sled 


quack 


crest 


brow 


flat 


bed 


whack 


chest 


plow 


gnat 


wed 


smack 


jest 


mow 


plat 


shed 


a 


lest 


ow 
[3] 


a 


e 



238 


LEARNING TO RI 


:ad 




13 


14 


15 


17 


stand 


grow 


fly 


peep 


top 


strand 


blow 


sky 


deep 


stop 


grand 


snow 


by 


keep 


drop 


brand 


low 


my 


sweep 


hop 


hand 


flow 


try 


steep 


lop 


a 


slow 


why 


creep 


mop 


19 


bow 


sly 


sheep 


pop 


sing 


tow 


cry 


sleep 


crop 


wing 


mow 


dry 


ee 


prop 


cling 


sow 


buy 


16 


shop 


fling 


show 


pry 


old 


chop 


sling 


know 


spry 


hold 


strop 


bring 


row 


fry 


cold 


slop 


spring 


crow 


ply 


scold 


o 


string 


throw 


wry 


bold 


18 


king 


glow 


shy 


gold 


and 


thing 


stow 


sty 


sold 


land 


sting 


strow 


spy 


told 


sand 


swing 





y 




[4] 


band 


i 





THE 


PHONIC < 


CHART 


239 


20 


22 


24 


25 


yell 


long 


can 


care 


made 


spell 


song 


ran 


dare 


shade 


shell 


gong 


man 


hare 


lade 


smell 


prong 


fan 


bare 


spade 


dwell 


wrong 


pan 


blare 


fade 


dell 


strong 


span 


fare 


glade 


quell 


o 


tan 


flare 


wade 


knell 


21 


than 


glare 


trade 


e 


get 


plan 


mare 


grade 


27 


let 


an 


pare 


blade 


found 


yet 


a 


rare 


a 


bomid 


met 


23 


stare 


26 


round 


net 


last 


spare 


tell 


ground 


jet 


fast 


share 


well 


hound 


pet 


past 


snare 


fell 


mound 


set 


blast 


scare 


bell 


pound 


wet 


cast 


ware 


swell 


sound 


fret 


mast 


square 


cell 


wound 


e 


a 


a 

[5] 


sell 


ou 



240 


LEARNING TO READ 




28 


30 


32 


34 


35 


giad 


night 


rose 


rain 


ieet 


had 


might 


those 


plain 


meet 


bad 


right 


nose 


grain 


beet 


brad 


bright 


hose 


brain 


sweet 


dad 


fight 


pose 


gain 


greet 


lad 


slight 


prose 


lain 


fleet 


clad 


flight 


close 


slain 


sheet 


mad 


sight 


o 


pain 


street 


pad 


tight 


33 


main 


sleet 


sad 


blight 


time 


vain 


ee 


a 


fright 


dime 


chain 


36 


29 


light 


lime 


train 


kite 


soon 


i 


rime 


strain 


white 


moon 


31 


crime 


drain 


write 


noon 


loud 


chime 


stain 


bite 


spoon 


proud 


grime 


Spain 


quite 


loon 


cloud 


prime 


sprain 


site 


coon 


shroud 


slime 


twain 


smite 


oo 


oa 


i 


9d 


• 

1 



[6] 





THE 


PHONIC CHART 


9A1 


37 


pride 


40 


41 


43 


dear 


wide 


think 


shone 


find 


near 


tide 


drink 


stone 


kind 


hear 


glide 


rink 


bone 


bind 


shear 


slide 


hnk 


cone 


mind 


fear 


bide 


blink 


drone 


wind 


rear 


chide 


clink 


hone 


grind 


gear 


guide 


chink 


tone 


blind 


tear 


stride 


slink 


zone 


i 


year 


i 


pink 


o 


44 


spear 


39 


mink 


42 


big 


smear 


must 


wink 


down 


dig 


clear 


just 


sink 


town 


fig 


ear 


gust 


tink 


gown 


pig 


ea 


crust 


brink 


clown 


wig 


38 


dust 


shrink 


brown 


rig 


hide 


rust 


prink 


crown 


twig 


side 


trust 


kink 


drown 


brig 


ride 


thrust 


ink 


frown 


jig 


bride 


u 


[7] 


ow 


• 

1 



242 


LEARNING TO 


READ 




46 


swim 


49 


suck 


52 


sun 


skim 


sung 


tuck 


pea 


fun 


sHm 


hung 


struck 


sea 


run 


i 


stung 


duck 


lea 


bun 


47 


lung 


truck 


flea 


dun 


fair 


clung 


u 


plea 


gun 


air 


flung 


51 


tea 


nun 


hair 


slung 


rock 


ea 


pun 


lair 


pung 


cock 


53 


spun 


pair 


rung 


block 


am 


stun 


chair 


sprung 


frock 


swam 


shun 


stair 


strung 


flock 


ham 


u 


ai 


swung 


lock 


jam 


46 


48 


wrung 


mock 


ram 


him 


over 


u 


knock 


clam 


dim 


clover 


50 


stock 


cram 


rim 


Dover 


luck 


shock 


tram 


brim 


Rover 


stuck 


clock 


sham 


prim 


drover 


cluck 


sock 


slam 


trim 


o 


pluck 
[8] 


o 


a 





THE 


PHONIC CHART 


243 


54 


bleat 


57 


59 


60 


look 


cheat 


place 


hap 


morn 


took 


treat 


face 


rap 


horn 


rook 


wheat 


pace 


chap 


corn 


cook 


ea 


race 


clap 


born 


book 


56 


brace 


flap 


thorn 


hook 


saw 


trace 


gap 


o 


nook 


paw 


grace 


cap 


61 


brook 


caw 


lace 


lap 


ought 


crook 


jaw 


space 


yap 


thought 


shook 


law 


a 


map 


brought 


oo 


raw 


58 


nap 


bought 


55 


straw 


catch 


tap 


fought 


eat 


flaw 


scratch 


sap 


ou 


beat 


claw 


hatch 


strap 


62 


heat 


draw 


latch 


slap 


weather 


meat 


gnaw 


match 


snap 


feather 


neat 


thaw 


patch 


trap 


heather 


peat 


squaw 


snatch 


wrap 


leather 


seat 


a 


a 
[9] 


a 


ea 



244 LEARNING TO READ 



63 . 


tin 


66 


67 


69 


deed 


gin 


not 


hark 


kid 


feed 


win 


lot 


dark 


did 


need 


pin 


blot 


spark 


hid 


heed 


chin 


cot 


bark 


bid 


seed 


spin 


clot 


mark 


lid 


weed 


skin 


dot 


park 


rid 


reed 


grin 


got 


lark 


slid 


greed 


thin 


hot 


shark 


i 


freed 


twin 


jot 


a 


70 


bleed 


i 


knot 


68 


dead 


breed 


65 


pot 


hive 


head 


speed 


cool 


plot 


live 


lead 


ee 


fool 


rot 


dive 


read 


64 


spool 


shot 


five 


bread 


in 


pool 


slot 


strive 


tread 


bin 


tool 


spot 


thrive 


dread 


din 


stool 


tot 


alive 


spread 


fin 


school 


trot 


drive 


thread 


sin 


00 


o 

[10] 


• 

1 


ea 





THE 


PHONIC CHART 


245 


71 


72 


73 


sneer 


76 


thank 


chick 


came 


queer 


east 


bank 


quick 


name 


steer 


least 


blank 


tick 


game 


ee 


feast 


clank 


Dick 


dame 


75 


beast 


crank 


kick 


fame 


make 


yeast 


drank 


Hck 


flame 


wake 


ea 


flank 


nick 


same 


bake 


77 


frank 


jDick 


tame 


cake 


speak 


hank 


sick 


lame 


lake 


creak 


lank 


rick 


blame 


rake 


squeak 


plank 


wick 


frame 


take 


weak 


prank 


crick 


shame 


quake 


beak 


rank 


stick 


a 


stake 


bleak 


sank 


prick 


74 


brake 


freak 


shank 


click 


deer 


drake 


leak 


dank 


brick 


peer 


shake 


peak 


spank 


trick 


beer 


flake 


streak 


tank 


thick 


cheer 


snake 


wreak 


a 


• 

1 


jeer 
[11] 


a 


ea 



246 


LEARNmG TO 


READ 




78 


page 


81 


83 


84 


ice 


sage 


grew 


tip 


sail 


mice 


stage 


threw 


skip 


snail 


dice 


wage 


brew 


drip 


nail 


lice 


a 


crew 


slip 


bail 


nice 


80 


drew 


chip 


' fail 


price 


jump 


screw 


clip 


hail 


rice 


hump 


ew 


dip 


jail 


slice 


bump 


82 


grip 


mail 


spice 


clump 


far 


hip 


pail 


splice 


dump 


star 


lip 


rail 


thrice 


lump 


bar 


nip 


trail 


trice 


plump 


car 


rip 


frail 


twice 


pump 


char 


sip 


tail 


vice 


rump 


mar 


ship 


wail 


i 


slump 


tar 


snip 


quail 


79 


stump 


jar 


trip 


flail 


age 


thump 


scar 


whip 


vail 


cage 


trump 


spar 


pip 


ail 


rage 


u 


a 

[12] 


i 


ai 





THE 


PHONIC 


CHART 


247 


85 


lied 


88 


90 


92 


gate 


spied 


this 


rob 


ash 


ate 


tried 


miss 


cob 


dash 


Kate 


fried 


hiss 


bob 


flash 


late 


tied 


kiss 


fob 


splash 


fate 


ie 


bliss 


hob 


crash 


grate 


87 


i 


job 


clash 


hate 


out 


89 


knob 


hash 


mate 


about 


flies 


mob 


lash 


date 


gout 


skies 


sob 


sash 


plate 


pout 


ties 


o 


rash 


rate 


rout 


dries 


91 


smash 


crate 


stout 


dies 


reach 


trash 


skate 


spout 


fries 


peach 


a 


slate 


sprout 


lies 


preach 


93 


a 


shout 


spies 


beach 


love 


86 


scout 


pries 


bleach 


dove 


cried 


trout 


tries 


teach 


shove 


died 


snout 


cries 


each 


glove 


dried 


ou 


ie 
[13] 


ea 


o 



248 


LEARNING TO 1 


READ 




94 


shrine 


rift 


100 


dirt 


up 


whine 


sift 


whence 


flirt 


cup 


thine 


gift 


thence 


squirt 


sup 


twine 


shift 


pence 


ir 


pup 


brine 


thrift 


fence 


103 


u 


i 


i 


hence 


dream 


95 


96 


98 


e 


stream 


pine 


grass 


coat 


101 


team 


fine 


pass 


goat 


hang 


beam 


dine 


mass 


boat 


sang 


cream 


kine 


glass 


float 


bang 


gleam 


line 


lass 


o 


clang 


seam 


mine 


class 


99 


gang 


steam 


nine 


brass 


moss 


rang 


ea 


spine 


ass 


toss 


sprang 


104 


tine 


a 


boss 


slang 


leap 


wine 


97 


cross 


a 


reap 


swine 


hft 


gloss 


102 


heap 


vine 


swift 


loss 


skirt 


cheap 


shine 


drift 


o 

[14] 


shirt 


ea 





THE 


PHONIC 


CHART 


249 


105 


107 


109 


gale 


113 


log 


roll 


dress 


male 


lost 


frog 


toll 


guess 


sale 


cost 


bog 


poll 


bless 


stale 


frost 


cog 


troll 


less 


scale 


o 


clog 


droll 


mess 


vale 


114 


fog 


stroll 


press 


whale 


gave 


flog 


scroll 


yes 


Yale 


save 


hog 


knoll 


e 


a 


brave 


dog 


o 


110 


112 


cave 


jog 


108 


walk 


seek 


lave 


o 


rove 


talk 


peek 


pave 


106 


stove 


stalk 


creek 


rave 


seen 


wove 


chalk 


cheek 


shave 


green 


cove 


a 


Greek 


slave 


queen 


clove 


111 


leek 


wave 


screen 


drove 


pale 


meek 


crave 


keen 


grove 


tale 


sleek 


grave 


preen 


strove 


bale 


week 


knave 


ee 


o 


dale 
C15] 


ee 


a 



250 


LEARNING TO 


READ 




115 


118 


jug 


122 


124 


soft 


neck 


lug 


meal 


spoke 


loft 


deck 


mug 


steal 


awoke 


croft 


peck 


pug 


deal 


broke 


oft 


check 


plug 


heal 


coke 


o 


fleck 


rug 


seal 


joke 


116 


speck 


shrug 


veal 


poke 


taste 


e 


slug 


squeal 


stroke 


paste 


119 


tug 


zeal 


smoke 


haste 


dull 


drug 


ea 


choke 


baste 


hull 


thug 


123 


yoke 


waste 


gull 


u 


went 


woke 


a 


cull 


121 


sent 


o 


117 


skull 


hole 


bent 


125 


wear 


u 


stole 


dent 


life 


bear 


120 


mole 


cent 


wife 


swear 


snug 


pole 


lent 


fife 


tear 


dug 


whole 


tent 


knife 


pear 


bug 


sole 


spent 


strife 


ea 


hug 


o 
[16] 


e 


1 





THE 


PHONIC CHART 


251 


126 


129 


132 


134 


137 


single 


enough 


end 


leave 


hoot 


tingle 


rough 


send 


weave 


boot 


mingle 


tough 


bend 


cleave 


root 


shingle 


ou 


blend 


heave 


soot 


jingle 


130 


lend 


ea 


toot 


i 


bud 


mend 


135 


oo 


127 


mud 


rend 


dome 


138 


curl 


cud 


spend 


home 


paid 


furl 


scud 


tend 


gnome 


maid 


hurl 


u 


vend 


Rome 


laid 


u 


131 


e 


tome 


raid 


128 


yawn 


133 


o 


braid 


owl 


dawn 


cliff 


136 


ai 


growl 


fawn 


stiff 


note 


139 


scowl 


lawn 


skiff 


mote 


oak 


fowl 


pawn 


sniff 


vote 


cloak 


howl 


spawn 


whiff 


rote 


croak 


prowl 


brawn 


if 


wrote 


soak 


ow 


aw 


i 





oa 



[17] 



^52 


LEARNING TO REAi: 


) 




140 


143 


146 


dart 


151 


clever 


roof 


blaze 


chart 


hush 


never 


hoof 


gaze 


cart 


brush 


sever 


proof 


glaze 


art 


crush 


ever 


woof 


craze 


a 


flush 


e 


CO 


graze 


149 


gush 


141 


144 


haze 


twist 


mush 


hard 


felt 


a 


mist 


plush 


yard 


melt 


147 . 


fist 


rush 


lard 


belt 


roar 


grist 


tush 


bard 


dwelt 


soar 


hst 


slush 


guard 


knelt 


boar 


hist 


blush 


card 


pelt 


oar 


i 


thrush 


a 


spelt 


oa 


150 


u 


142 


e 


148 


bean 


152 

blue 
glue 
true 
flue 


pond 


145 


start 


mean 


fond 
bond 


eight 
freight 


smart 
part 


clean 
lean 


blond 


weight 


mart 


wean 


UILIC 

rue 


o 


ei 


tart 


ea 


ue 





THE 


PHONIC CHART 


253 


153 


crane 


158 


169 


nut 


arm 


sane 


more 


faint 


rut 


farm 


wane 


bore 


paint 


shut 


harm 


a 


core 


saint 


strut 


charm 


156 


shore 


quaint 


u 


a 


prance 


chore 


plaint 


162 


154 


chance 


fore 


taint 


brag 


girl 


dance 


gore 


sii 


flag 


whirl 


lance 


lore 


160 


crag 


twirl 


glance 


pore 


bunch 


drag 


swirl 


trance 


sore 


lunch 


stag 


ir 


a 


score 


munch 


snag 


155 


157 


snore 


crunch 


slag 


cane 


ask 


spore 


hunch 


bag 


vane 


bask 


store 


punch 


gag 


bane 


cask 


swore 


u 


lag 


lane 


flask 


tore 


161 


rag 


mane 


mask 


wore 


but 


tag 


pane 


task 


yore 


cut 


wag 


plane 


a 


o 
[19] 


hut 


a 



254' 


LEARNING TO READ 






163 


house 


168 


171 


172 


stretch 


ou 


own 


mad 


made 


wretch 


166 


known 


rag 


rage 


sketch 


boy 


shown 


dam 


dame 


fetch 


joy 


grown 


can 


cane 


vetch 


toy 


thrown 


cap 


cape 


etch 


coy 


blown 


hat 


hate 


e 


Troy 


o 


hid 


hide 


164 


oy 


169 


mill 


mile 


good 


167 


turn 


dim 


dime 


stood 


feel 


burn 


pin 


pine 


hood 


heel 


churn 


rip 


ripe 


wood 


keel 


spurn 


bit 


bite 


oo 


peel 


urn 


rob 


robe 


165 


reel 


u 


rod 


rode 


mouse 


kneel 


170 


Tom 


tome 


louse 


steel 


large 


not 


note 


blouse 


wheel 


barge 


hop 


hope 


souse 


eel 


charge 


tub 


tube 


grouse 


ee 


a 

[20] 


cut 


cute 





THE PHONIC CHART 


255 


173 — a 


174 — 3Li 


175 — a 


base 


aim 


fact 


case 


claim 


tax 


chase 


wait 


lamb 


bathe 


daily- 


camp 


lathe 


dairy 


shrank 


range 


daisy 


wrangle 


change 


rainy 


saddle 


strange 


plainly 


shadow 


danger 


dainty 


crackle 


manger 


faith 


handy 


stranger 


praise 


happen 


drape 


straight 


thrash 


crape 


waist 


hammer 


scrape 


waif 


stagger 


cable 


afraid 


crab 


table 


complain 


stamp 


stable 


explain 


gather 


maple 


sailor 


scalp 


staple 


jailer 

[21] 


banner 



^5Q 


LEARNING TO READ 




176 — a 


178 — ar 


179 — au 


bath 


barn 


aunt 


path 


yarn 


daunt 


dance 


starve 


flaunt 


glance 


scarf 


gaunt 


clasp 


tardy 


haunt 


grasp 


hardly 


jaunt 


lastly 


barb 


taunt 


vastly 


sharp 


vaunt 


craft 


guard 


launch 


shaft 


starch 


saunter 


master 


charge 


haunch 


plaster 


market 


180 — aw 


177 — m 


harsh 


hawk 


calf 


marsh 


squawk 


half 


hart 


dawdle 


calves 


snarl 


awl 


halves 


darling 


shawl 


calm 


farmer 


fawn 


palm 


alarm 

[22] 


awe 





THE PHONIC CHART 


257 


181 — a 


182 — au 


184 — ea 


warm 


caught 


stream 


warmer 


taught 


teacher 


warmth 


pause 


squeal 


swarm 


cause 


yearly 


ward 


clause 


drear 


swath 


daub 


dreary 


waltz 


fault 


glean 


want 


daughter 


wreath 


war 


naughty 


breathe 


warble 


sauce 


please 


warn 


saucer 


ease 


wharf 


saucy 


leaf 


wharves 


183 — ee 


leaves 


salt 


beech 


read 


scald 


beef 


reason 


wart 


seem 


treason 


dwarf 


fleece 


crease 


alter 


breeze 


eager 


falter 


teeth 
[23] 


eagle 



>8 


LEitRNING TO READ 




185 — e 


186 — e 


188 — er 


egg 


left 


her 


length 


theft 


hers 


crept 


edge 


herd 


else 


wedge 


herb 


dense 


bench 


perch 


depth 


wrench 


serve 


desk 


flesh 


term 


step 


* 

thresh 


verge 


help 


twelfth 


189 — le 


stem 


strengthen 


brief 


held 


187 — ea 


chief 


web 


death 


thief 


pebble 


breath 


field 


rebel 


sweat 


shield 


twelve 


steady- 


yield 


tenth 


meadow 


niece 


shelf 


measure 


pier 


next 


pleasure 


pierce 


meddle 


treasure 

[24] 


fierce 





THE PHONIC CHART 


259 


190 — i 


191 — i 


192 — i 


while 


print 


strip 


smile 


witch 


wrist 


ripe 


riddle 


sister 


stripe 


midget 


script 


sign 


quilt 


rinse 


tribe 


wriggle 


width 


frighten 


trigger 


crib 


brighten 


brittle 


bridge 


crime 


written 


inch 


chime 


pity 


crimp 


spire 


grim 


glimpse 


quire 


glimmer 


fringe 


sigh 


silk 


crisp 


spike 


prince 


brisk 


mild 


mix 


dish 


size 


dimple 


film 


prize 


sprinkle 


filth 


rise 


prickle 


switch 


wise 


cricket 


sphnt 



[25] 



260 


LEARNING TO READ 




193 — ir 


195— 6a 


197-0 


fir 


road 


trod 


firm 


loaf 


lodge 


first 


loaves 


prompt 


third 


oath 


floss 


birth 


soap 


crotch 


birch 


oats 


cloth 


shirk 


throat 


tongs 


chirp 


groan 


yonder 


thirty 


foam 


beyond 


thirteen 


coarse 


pocket 


194 — 6 


goal 


198 — or 


slope 


boast 


nor 


globe 


board 


cord 


post 


196 — oo 


stork 


bolt 


roost 


storm 


rode 


goose 


short 


porch 


shoot 


scorch 


sport 


poor 


border 


worn 


stoop 
[26D 


corner 





THE PHONIC CHART 


261 


199 — ou 


201 — fi 


203 — fi 


hour 


cube 


dusk 


mouth 


cure 


tuft 


sprout 


duke 


puzzle 


shroud 


dupe 


crumble 


mount 


plume 


thrust 


fountain 


mule 


supper 


house 


due 


puppy 


couch 


use 


druggist 


ounce 


202 — ur 


mudge 


200 — oi 


burn 


jumps 


oil 


spur 


plunge 


spoil 


surf 


crumb 


voice 


burst 


crutch 


choice 


church 


swung 


join 


curb 


blunt 


coin 


curd 


stuff 


joint 


purse 


flutter 


moist 


curve 


puddle 


noise 


hurt 

[27] 


thunder 



INDEX 



The numerals refer to pages 
Acorns, The, story introducing Aldine Readers, Book Two (Con- 



Primer Rhyme X, 114 
Action sentences, 71, 77, 113 
Aldine Readers, Book One 

content lends itself to drama- 
tization, 15 
content, continuity of thought 

of, 26 
continued use of Phonic Chart 

in connection with, 192, 

193 
method of teaching, 150-203 
order of taking up series in 

connection with, 234 
Phonic Chart comes into use 

with, 50 
reading from, 173 
when to begin supplementary 

reading in connection with, 

53 
use of alphabetically arranged 

vocabulary at end, 192 
Aldine Readers, Book Two 
as basal text, 54, 204 
daily use of Phonic Chart in 

connection with, 192, 193, 

205 
In Story Land, 224, 225 
method of teaching, 204-229 
not supplementary, 54 
Once Upon a Time, 214-216 
order of taking up phonic 



tinned) 

series in connection with, 
235 

Out-of-door Neighbors, 206-213 

purpose of, 204 

Some Things to Think About, 
226, 227 
Songs of Life, 217-220 

systematic drill in phonics in 
connection with, 54 

With Nature's Children, 221- 
223 

With Our Feathered Friends, 
228, 229 
Aldine Method 

applied, 55-229 

explained, 7-54 

founded on sound psycholog- 
ical principles, 3 

importance of clear under- 
standing of, 7 

meaning of term "Method" 
as used in this Manual, 3 

simple and natural, 7 
Aldine Primer 

content, larger thought of, 27 

content lends itself to drama- 
tization, 15 

nature content of, footnote, 149 

reading from, 90, 104, 122, 125, 
131, 139, 144, 148 



263 



264 



INDEX 



Aldine Primer {Continued) 

when to begin, 90, 104 
Alphabet, when to teach, 149 
Ant and the Mouse, The, sug- 
gestions for teaching, 
216 
Audience 
in oral reading, advantages of, 

45 
helpful criticism, 45, 46 
how supplied, 45 
lack of, 44 

necessary to success of drama- 
tized story, 139 

B, teach sound of from boy, 85 
Babyland, suggestions for teach- 
ing, 220 
Bee and Grasshopper, The, sug- 
gestions for teaching, 188 
Belling the Cat, suggestions for 

teaching, 221 
Blackboard 

transition from board to book, 

90 
use in phonic drills and games, 

145, 176, 194 
use in supplementary reading, 

125 
use in teaching consonant 

sound, 72 
use in teaching rhymes, 60-64, 

69, 95 
use in word drills, 83, 125, 130, 

132, 133 
use lessened by Reading Chart, 

47 
when to stop reading sentences 
from, 115 



Bluebird, The 

story introducing Primer 

Rhyme VII, 100 
suggestions for teaching, 223 
Bluebird's Song, The 

story introducing Primer 

Rhyme VII, 106, 107 
story introducing Primer 
Rhyme XX, 141 
Boaster and the Baby, The, sugges- 
tions for teaching, 223 
Bo-peep, Primer Rhyme, 132 
Boy Blue, The Story of, 
story introducing Primer 
Rhymes XIV, XV and 
XVI, 127-130 
Brook, The, suggestions for teach- 
ing, 217 

C, teach sound of from come, 

71, 72 
Calling the Violet, suggestions for 

teaching, 218 
Cards, 47 

Consonant Blend Cards, 109, 

119, 163, 173 
Phonetic Series Cards, 158 
how made, 158, 159 
how used, 159, 160, 199 
Phonetic Word Builders, 160 
how made, 160 
how used, 161, 165, 184 
Phonic Cards 

begin drill with, 79 

how used, 48 
important aids, 47, 48 
Pupils' Phonic Drill Cards, 47 
purpose and use of, 164, 165 
196, 205 



INDEX 



265 



Cards (Continued) 
Rhyme Cards, 47 

how used, 11, 49, 50, 197, 
198 
Seat Work Cards, 47 
how made, 64, 65 
how used, 65, 71, 78, 85, 97, 

108, 125, 136 
where obtained, footnote, 66 
Sight Word Cards, 47 

how used, 48, 62, 63, 70, 96, 
108 
Word and Phrase Cards, 47 
how used, 70, 76, 85 
where obtained, footnote, 70 
Caterpillar, The, suggestions for 

teaching, 188, 214, 215 
Charts, 47 

Phonic Chart, 50 

character and purpose of, 50 
how to use, 50, 51, 154-156, 
161, 185, 192-196, 198, 205 
• index by series, 231-233 

order of taking up series, 

234, 235 
special test series, 195, 234 
when to begin, 152 
Reading Chart, 47 
advantages of, 47 
how to use, 47, 77, 78, 115 
when to begin, 77 
Rhyme Charts, 49 

use of, 11, 49, 95, 96, 108 
Concert 

answers in, 58 
drills, 48, 92 
Consonant Blends 
bl from blue, 109 
br from bring, 113 



Consonant Blends (Continued) 

ch from children, 148 

cl from clay, 163 

cr from crack, 163 

dr from drill, 158 

fl horn fly, 125 

fr from from, 139 

gl from glad, 113 

gr from ground, 119 

pi from play, 122 

pr from pray, 163 

qu from quill, 158 

.s-c from scold, 176 

sh from sheep, 131 

sk from skill, 158 

si from sleep, 136 

sm from small, 158 

sn from snow, 136 

sp from spill, 158 

spl from split, 158 

spr from spring, 148 

sq2i from squirrel, 132 

st from still, 158 

str from stray, 163 

sw from sivay, 163 

th from there, 125 

iAr from i^ree, 152 

tr from iree, 115 

wh from w^era, 145 

review constantly, 119 

when to begin, 109 
Consonants 

application of knowledge of, 
190, 191 

automatic vocal reaction to 
consonant symbols, 153 

constant sounds and combina- 
tions, 16 

correct sound of, 79 



266 



INDEX 



Consonants {Continued) 
daily drills on, 16, 173 
final, 212 
how to teach sounds of, 72, 79, 

92, 109 
initial, 50, 109, 119, 11.5 
mastery of, 152, 153 
when to begin, 71 
Crane Express, The, suggestions 

for teaching, 188 

D, teach sound of from day, 91 
Dandelion, The, suggestions for 

teaching, 187, 222 
Dark Place, The, suggestions for 

teaching, 215, 216 
Devices 

for word review, 96 
for teaching phonics, 176, 177 
Dialogue, 103, 104, 119, 131, 135, 
136, 187, 222, 228 
how to read, 103, 135, 136 
making, 222 
Discontent, suggestions for teach- 
ing, 221 
Dramatizing, 11-15 
advantages of, 12 
as aid to expression, 12, 13, 

112, 139, 164, 210, 226 
as aid to feeling and under- 
standing lesson of story, 
210, 211, 212, 216, 217 
as aid in teaching rhyme, 58, 175 
as step in preparation of oral 

reading lesson, 210 
encourage originality in, 90, 

112, 179, 186, 210 
finished product not desired, 
211 



Dramatizing {Continued) 

indispensable in teaching non- 
English-speaking children, 
13 

is complete reading, 12 

need of audience, 139 

purpose of, 210 

stories suitable for, in Book 
One, 187, 188 

suggestions for dramatizing 
Primer Rhymes, 58, 69, 
75, 148 

suggestions for dramatizing 
Book One Rhymes, 157, 
162, 175 

suggestions for dramatizing 
stories introducing Primer 
Rhymes, 83, 89, 102, 107, 
112, 115, 118, 125, 130, 
132, 135, 138, 144 

suggestions for dramatizing 
stories introducing Book 
One Rhymes, 152, 164, 
168, 179 

suggestions for dramatizing 
stories in Book Two, 210, 
213, 215, 216, 217, 218, 
219, 223, 224, 226, 227, 
228, 229 
Drowning of Mr. Leghorn, The, 
suggestions for teaching, 
228 
Drills 

blend, 16, 173 

character of all, 145, 183, 184 

class, 48, 153, 155 

concert, 48, 49 

general test and drill on series, 
155, 156 



INDEX 



267 



Drills (Continued) 
individual, 153, 155 
on consonant sounds, 153 
on ending -ed, 136, 212, 215 
-er, 136, 213 
-est, 222 

-ing, 97, 136, 223 
-ly, 216 
-s, 97, 136 
on families, 154, 159, 176, 177, 

180, 193-195 
on final g, 228 

on initial consonants, 109, 145 
on new words, 125, 130, 132, 

135, 139, 144, 148, 152, 

158, 164, 168, 169, 172 
on phrases, 64, 70, 85 
on regular singular and plural 

forms of nouns and verbs, 

97 
on written rhymes, 60-63, 69, 

75, 83, 90, 95, 96, 103, 107, 

113, 115, 119, 121 
phonetic, 54, 79, 109, 136, 145, 

154, 155, 176, 177, 183, 

184, 208 
sound, 16, 79, 91, 92, 109, 

148, 149 
to teach family name, 154 
with Phonetic Series Cards, 

158-160 
with Phonic Blend Cards, 119, 

163, 173 
with Phonic Cards, 48, 79, 119 
with Sight Word Cards, 48, 

62, 69, 84, 85, 108, 125, 

130, 132, 144 
with Word and Phrase Cards, 

70, 76, 85, 113, 115 



Drills (Continued) 

word, 62, 63, 83-85, 108, 125, 

130, 144, 207 
word, purpose of, 63 

E, final, as modifier of vowel 
sounds, series 171 and 172, 
254 
Ear-training, 85, 86 
Endings 

-ed, 136, 212, 215 
-cr, 136, 213 
-est, 222 

-ing, 97, 136, 223 
-ly, 216 
-s, 97, 136 

that rhyme, 148, 149 
Exercises 

in phonics, 176, 177, 194, 195 

in phrasing, 75, 76 

in pointing words of rhymes, 

61 
in reading action sentences, 

113 
in reading rhyme, 183 
in reading seat work sentences, 

125 
in reading to audience, 44, 45, 

46 
in spelling, 197-200 
with phonetic word builders, 

184, 185 
with Seat Work Cards 65, 71 
Expression, 34 

aids to, 12, 13, 112, 139, 164, 

210, 213, 226 
effects of models of, 40, 122, 

188, 208, 228 
individual, 210 



268 



INDEX 



Expression {Continued) 

in reading dialogue, 135, 136 

in repeating rhymes, 51 

in sentence work, 63 

models required, 39, 40 

questioning to secure, 64, 208, 
209 

referred to types of, 42 

result of thinking and imita- 
tion, 38 

r61e of imitation, 38, 39, 122, 
212, 213 

r61e of thinking, 38, 39, 185, 200 

through intelligent rivalry in 
reading, 43 

thought and expression in- 
separable, 43, 44 

F, teach sound of from for, 

115 
Fairy Butterfly, suggestions for 

teaching, 188 
Families (see Series) 

drill on, 159, 176, 177, 193- 

195 
drill to teach family name, 154 
general drill and test on, 155, 

156 
in connection with spelling, 

198-200 
introduction to study of, 148, 

149 
review constantly, 193 
seat work based upon, 161, 165, 
184, 185 
Fortune Seekers, The, suggestions 

for teaching, 188 
Friends, suggestions for teaching, 
227 



G, teach sound of from girl, 96 

final g, 228 
Games 

phonic, 91, 145 
with Word Cards, 84 
Glad News, The, story introduc- 
ing Primer Rhyme IX, 
110 
Grasshopper and the Dove, The, 
suggestions for teaching, 
211 



H, teach sound of from he, 
131 

Help One Another, suggestions for 
teaching, 227 

Henny Penny, suggestions for 
teaching, 188 

How Jack Horner Sang the Rain 
Away, story introducing 
Primer Rhyme V, 87 

How Mrs. White Hen Helped 
Rose, suggestions for teach- 
ing, 224 

How the Bean Got Its Black 
Seam, suggestions for teach- 
ing, 227 

How We Got Our First Daisies, 
suggestions for teaching, 
220 

Hungry Cat, The, suggestions for 
teaching, 188 

Imitation 

in expression, conscious and 

unconscious, 40 
direct, 38, 40, 196, 213 
indirect, 41, 42, 122, 188, 229 



INDEX 



269 



Indian Mother's Lullaby, The, 
suggestions for teaching, 
223 
Individual 

drill on consonant sounds, 153 
drill on families, 155 
expression, 210 
reading at seats, 49, 201 
work on rhyme, 61 
Individuality of presentation, 

202 
Interest 
aroused by stories, 8, 214 
to arouse in phonics, 91 
Interpretation of Thought, 188, 

204 
Introduction 
to Manual, 3-4 
to study of families, 148, 149 

J, teach sound of from jump, 

79 
Jolly Organ-grinder, The, story, 

introducing Primer Rhyme 

III, 73, 74 

K, teach sound of from kill, 158 
King of the Birds, The, sugges- 
tions for teaching, 227 

L, teach sound of from little, 105 

Lady-Bird, The, suggestions for 
teaching, 188 

Lady Moon, suggestions for teach- 
ing, 220 

Language work 

discussion of poems and stories 
read, 201, 210, 211, 219, 221 
223, 224 



Language work (Continued) 

dramatization {see Dramatiz- 
ing) 

making original sentence with 
Seat Work Cards, 125 

memorizing {see Memorizing) 

original dialogue, 222 

original questions and answers, 
60, 220 

original stories, 218 

picture study {see Picture 
Study) 

reproduction {see Reproduction) 

study of poeiis, 218, 220, 222, 
223, 224, 226, 227 

telling in own words the lesson 
the story teaches, etc., 215, 
223, 226, 227 

using new words in sentences, 
194, 208 

word study, 217, 222, 227, 228 
Letters, learning names incident- 
ally, 92 
Literature of fact and information, 
37 

of inspiration, 37, 38 

M, teach sound of from me, 105 
Magpie's Lesson, The, suggestions 

for teaching, 222 
Manual, purpose of, 3-4 
Memorizing 

of rhymes, by dramatizing, 175 
by repetition, 57 
for vocabulary, 8 
in connection with picture, 

175 
not mechanical, 58 
should be thorough, 57, 75 



270 



INDEX 



Memorizing (Continued) 
through play, 95 
of poetry, 219, 223 
Method (see Aldine Method) 
Miss White's Picnic, story intro- 
ducing Primer Rhyme VI, 
93 
Models 

of expression, 39-41, 122 
in good reading, 188 
in voice, pitch, tone, time and 
phrasing, 122, 228 
Mr. and Mrs. Leghorn to the 
Rescue, suggestions for 
teaching, 229 

A^, teach sou id of from news, 113 

Oral reading {see Reading) 
Order of taking up series, 234, 
235 

P, teach sound of from -peef, 145 
Phonics 

and spelling, 196-200 
application of knowledge of 

to phonetic words, 17-19, 

20, 164, 165, 190, 208 
application of knowledge of 

in reading, 105, 186 
application of knowledge of to 

unphonetic words, 20-21, 

190, 191 
consonant sounds, 16, 71, 72, 

79, 85, 91, 92, 109, 119, 

145, 152, 153, 176, 177, 

194, 195, 212 
ear-training, 21, 80, 85, 86, 119, 

120, 126, 141, 145, 163, 



Phonics {Continued) 

165, 179-181, 201-203 
games, 97-99, 126, 145, 165, 

170, 173, 174, 179-181 
in consonant sounds, 80 
endings, 97, 136, 148, 212, 213, 

215, 216, 222, 223 
extent of use of, 20 
» families or series, 153-156, 

158-161, 176, 177, 183, 

185 
general discussion of, 15-21, 

190-196 
how to arouse interest in, 91 
mastery of, 153 

phonetic analysis of words, 191 
phonic drills, 79, 109, 136, 145, 

154, 155, 159, 163, 173, 

176, 183, 208 
phonic exercises, 194-196 
phonic games, 91, 145 
phonic power, 156, 164, 165 
type words or initial words of 

series, 17, 20, 155, 156, 192, 

199 
vowels and vowel combina- 
tions, 16-19, 50, 193 
Phrasing 

dramatizing as aid to correct 

phrasing, 164 
drill on, 70, 75-77 
for emphasis, 97 
practice in, 75, 76, 136 
suitable expression and, 188 
teacher's example in, 228 
to overcome word by word 

reading, 25, 78 
Pictures 

function of, 11 



INDEX 



271 



Pictures (Continued) 

use of, 162, 206, 207, 220, 224, 
228 
Picture Story, 162, 178 
Picture Study, 59, 70, 77, 85, 90, 
96, 103, 108, 121, 125, 131, 
135, 139, 144, 148, 152, 
158, 162, 168, 175, 178, 
189 
Poetry 

memorizing, 219, 223 
suggestions for reading, 172, 
187, 213, 214, 217, 218, 
219, 221, 222, 223, 224, 
226, 227 
Preparation 

for reading, pupils*, 21-22, 163, 

224 
for reading, teacher's, 189, 204, 

205, 206 
general guide for, 206-211 
preliminary reading of lesson 

as, 22 
what preparation of each lesson 
in Book Two should in- 
clude, 205 
Print {see Script) 

passage from script to, 77, 90 
when to begin reading print, 77 
Proud Crow, The, suggestions for 
teaching, 211 

Q, teach sound of qu from qnill, 

158 
Queer Chickens, suggestions for 

teaching, 213 

R, teach sound of from run, 71, 

72 



Race, The, story introducing 

Primer Rhyme II, 67, 68, 

69 
Readers 

basal, 54, 204 

supplementary, 52-54, 203, 204 
Reading 

and understanding, 18, 19, 46, 

53, 112, 122, 158, 209, 217, 

224 
aids to, in low primary grades, 

33 
as seat work, 91, 104, 139, 163, 

169, 186 
by doing, 71, 77, 90, 105, 113 
definitions of, 22, 34, 200 
details, as ends instead of 

means, 32 
details, place of, 32 
direct attention to the thought, 

25 
dramatic, 188, 189, 213, 216 
dramatic, selections suitable 

for, 189 
four degrees of reading, 23-34 
from board, 64, 71, 77, 78, 90, 

97, 103, 104, 115, 125 
from Book One, 158, 162, 163, 

168, 173 
from Book Two, 54, 204 
from Primer, 90, 91, 104, 105, 

122, 125, 131, 139 
from Reading Chart, 47, 77, 

78, 115 
general discussions of. 21-46, 

200 
helpful criticism, 46 
in answer to questions, 103, 119, 

169 



272 



INDEX 



Reading (Continued) 

independent, 104, 105, 201 
independent, equipment neces- 
sary to, 153 
independent, rhymes as aids 

to, 9, 186 
intelligent rivalry in, 43 
interpretative, 209 
is thinking, 18, 22, 33, 34, 200 
learn to read by, 105, 201 
mechanical difficulties of, 22 
mechanical difficulty to be over- 
come, a, 28, 29 
of dialogue, 42, 103, 108, 132, 

135, 136, 170, 187, 211, 

222, 224, 225, 228, 
of poetry, 42, 172, 183, 213, 217, 

218, 219, 221, 222, 223, 

224, 226, 227 
of related sentences together, 

25-30, 163 
of single sentences, justified, 29 
oral, 21, 34, 35, 44-46 
pernicious practices in, 30, 31 
preparation for, 21-22, 204- 

211, 224 
pupil misses point in, 31, 32 
pupils capable of reading and 

thinking connectedly, 28 
pupils must read sentences 

connectedly, 27 
reviews, 29, 78, 90, 104, 136, 

189, 227 
sight, 54, 173 
silent, 34, 35, 36, 103, 119, 163, 

173, 201. 219, 223 
silent vs. oral, 34-38 
neglected by schools, 34, 35 
taught by Aldine, 35, 36 



Reading (Continued) 

six conditions and results that 
should accompany and fol- 
low good reading, 202, 203 
something to tell, 113 
supplementary, 52-54, 78, 125 
teacher-pupil stories, 41, 122, 

164, 206, 228, 229 
thought-getting in, 23, 24, 163, 
169, 170, 173, 200, 209 
unconnected ideas, 23, 24 

how to avoid or break habit 

of, 25 
origin of habit of, 24 
why not connected, 23, 24 
unconnected paragraph, 30 

origin of habit, 30, 31 
unconnected thoughts, 26 
how habit is formed, 26, 27 
how to avoid habit, 27 
what must be done from the 

outset, 32, 33 
what real reading means, 22 
when to begin, 21, 22 
word calling, 19, 23, 24, 26, 64, 
70, 76, 209 
Reproducing, 33, 34, 173, 201 
as steps in preparation for oral 

reading, 209 
from different vie\vpoint, 218 
in dialogue form, 222 
of poem in prose, 227 
of thought, 173 
pupils must be trained in, 33, 

34, 201 
to outline, 209, 210 
value of, 33, 34 
Reviews 

daily reading, 78 



INDEX 



273 



Reviews {Continued) 

for practice in phrasing, 136 
from Reading Chart, 78 
how they should be read, 29, 30 
of consonant sounds and blend, 

119, 145 
of rhymes, 10, 136, 148 
of series, 193 
of words, 96 
Primer, 104 

reading, 78, 90, 104, 189, 227 
Rhymes, 8 

as aids to independent reading, 9 
dramatizing, 58, 148, 157, 162 
drill on, 69, 75, 83, 90, 95, 103, 

107, 113, 119, 121 
enable pupil to help himself, 9 
enunciation and articulation in 

connection with, 57 
getting the thought of, 112 
growing independence of, 186 
how pupils use, 10, 49, 91, 95, 

96, 100, 104, 108 
memorized perfectly, 57, 75 
phrases in, 75 

pointing words in, 10, 61, 62 
reading vocabulary acquired 

thi'ough, 8 
repeat with expression, 57 
teach, 57, 58, 69, 75, 83, 95, 

102, 107, 112, 115, 118, 

121, 125, 130, 132, 135, 

138, 144, 148, 151, 157, 

162, 164, 168, 169, 172, 

174, 182 
words learned in their use 

through, 9 
Robin Redbreast, story introducing 
Primer Rhyme XIII, 123 



Robin Redbreast's Breakfast, story 
introducing Book One 
Rhyme V, 166 

Robin s Escape, story introducing 
Book One Rhyme I, 150 

S, teach sound of from sing, 

ending -s, 97, 136 
Sandman, The, suggestions for 

teaching, 224 
Seat Work, 51, 52, 97 

continuous progress in neatness, 

difBculty and independence 

through, 109 
copying from Phonic Chart, 185 
cutting as, 158, 220 
drawing as, 158 
good judgment necessary in use 

of, 52 
materials for, 64-66, 160, 161 
not mere "busy work," 51 
reading as, 52, 91, 104, 139, 201 
silent study of reading lesson 

as, 163, 169 
underlining words on pages cut 

from magazines, 131 
what seat work requires and 

does, 51 
with Seat Work Cards, 65, 

79, 85, 96, 108, 125, 136, 

158 
with word builders, 161, 165, 

184 
writing words of given family, 

as, 185 
Series (sec Families) 

constant review of necessary, 93 
enlarging vocabulary through 

exercises, 194 



274 



INDEX 



Series {see Families) (Continued) 
index by, 231-235 
order of taking up, 234, 235 
Phonic Chart Series, 208, 
236-261 
introduction to, 148, 149 
study of, 192 
when to begin, 154 
steps in teaching series, 154 
use of Special Test Series, 195, 

196 
words, or typfi words, 16, 20, 
155, 156, 184, 192, 199 
Script {see Print) 
and Print, 66 
start with, 66, 78 
Sight Reading {see Reading) 
Sight words {see Cards, also Drills) 
as keys to series, 17, 20 
lists on board, 119 
teaching, 207 
Silent Reading {see Reading) 
Sleep, Baby, Sleep, suggestions 

for teaching, 219 
Snow Flakes, The, story introduc- 
ing Primer Rhyme XVIII, 
133 
Spelling, application of Phonics 
to, 195, 197 
use of Phonic Chart in, 198 
use of Rhyme Cards in, 198 
of "family" names, 198 
of words in series, 198-200 
Spring Story, The, introducing 

Primer Rhyme I, 55 
Star, The, suggestions for teach- 
ing, 187 
Starving of Mrs. Leghorn, The, 
suggestions for teaching, 228 



Stories, 8 

in Book One, suitable for 

dramatizing, 187. 188 
teacher and pupil, 40, 41, 122, 
164, 206, 228, 229 
purpose of, 122 
teacher's part in, 122, 228 
Story 

dramatizing the, 83, 89, 112, 

115, 118, 125, 138, 144, 

164, 168, 179, 210, 219 

Picture Story, 178 

what the story does, 8 

Supplementary Readers {see 

Readers) 
Supplementary reading, 52-54 
as offering opportunity to apply 
pupil's knowledge and 
power, 53, 54 
easier than basal, 53 
from board, 125 
large amount of supplementary 
reading matter necessary, 54 
taken at sight, 54 
when to begin, 52 
Sweet and Low, suggestions for 
teaching, 219 

T, teach sound of from tell, 109 

Tale of Squirrel Frisk, The, story 
introducing Primer Rhyme 
XI, 116 

Three of Us Know, suggestions 
for teaching, 222 

Thought-getting, 25, 27 63, 112, 
163, 169, 170, 173 

Tom Tucker's So7ig, story intro- 
ducing Primer Rhyme IV, 
81 



INDEX 



275 



True Story, A, suggestions for 
teaching, 217 

Vocabulary 

acquired through rhymes, 8 
building up a large vocabulary, 

227 
enlarging through exercises in 

series, 194 
power to read beyond r^yme- 

word vocabulary, 105 
serviceable vocabulary for writ- 
ten language work, 198 
use of alphabetically arranged 
vocabulary at the end of 
Book One, 192 
Vowel 

combinations, 16, 17, 50 

possibility of mistake, a, 17 
pupil corrects own mistakes, 

17 
real values of mistakes, 18 
second objection and an- 
swers, 19 
third objection answered, a, 

19 
this is thinking, not guessing, 
18 
sounds determined by relation 

to other letters, 16 
sounds modified by final e, 
series 171 and 172, 254 
Vowels and Type Words, 16-21 

W, teach sound of from wind, 139 

Waking the Flowers, suggestions 
for teaching, 187 



What Bluebird Sang to Jack, 
story introducing Primer 
Rhyme XXI, 146 

When the Little Boy Ran Away, 
suggestions for teaching, 
226 

White Lily, The, suggestions for 
teaching, 188 

Who is Strongest, suggestions for 
teaching, 215 

Why the Clover is Sweet, sugges- 
tions for teaching, 188 

Why the Birds Sing Different 
Songs, suggestion for 
teaching, 206-211 

Wind, The, suggestions for teach- 
ing, 218 

Wind and the Snowflakes, The, 
story introducing Primer 
Rhyme XIX, 137 

WiiuTs Surprise, The, sugges- 
tions for teaching, 219 

With Nature's Children, 221-223 

Wolf and the Kid, The, sugges- 
tions for teaching, 212 

Wolf and the Stork, The, sugges- 
tions for teaching, 223 

Words 

initial or type, 20, 155, 156, 

199 
in rhymes, 10, 60-63, 75, 96, 

105, 148 
learned in their use, 9 
meaning of, 194, 211, 226, 227 
new, drill on, 125, 130, 132, 135, 
139, 144, 148, 152, 158, 
164, 168, 169, 172 
new, incentive or motive for 
mastery of, 205, 207 



276 



INDEX 



Words {Continued) 
new, mastering of, 190 
new, where listed, 207 
phonic, 208 
pointing to words in rhymes, 

60, 61 
sight, 17, 20, 119, 172. 207 
that name noises, 227, 228 
that rhyme, 148, 149 



Words {Continued) 

that show how things moved, 

217, 227 
used in place of said, 222, 227 
used in sentences, 194, 208 
words of rhymes as vocabu- 
lary for ^vTitten work, 198 

Y, teach sound of from your, 131 



ALDINE READING SYSTEM 

Suggestions for the use of books and material by grades 



A. FOR FIRST GRADE TEACHERS 

Learning to Read, a Manual for Teachers, 
Revised Edition, 1918 

B. FOR FIRST GRADE CLASSROOMS 

First Year — First Half 

Aldine Reading and Phonic Chart, with Stand, 
Revised Edition, 1918 

While not absolutely essential to the Method, the Reading 
and Phonic Chart is exceedingly useful in conserving the 
time and strength of the teacher besides possessing great 
pedagogical value. One Chart for each First Grade Class- 
room. 

Sight Word Cards (121 in set) 

The Sight Word Cards are for class drill and are important 
aids. They relieve the teacher of much mechanical work. 
One set for each First Grade Classroom. 

Phonic Cards (54 in set) 

The Phonic Caids have been prepared to meet the de- 
mands of experience and are used in class diills for the 
purpose of perfecting the association of sounds with their 
symbols. They aie exceedingly helpful. One set for each 
First Grade Classroom. 

Rhyme Charts (19 in set) 

The Rhyme Charts are to be put up around the wall and 
kept in plain view of the pupils so that they may turn to 
them for reference. They are practically indispensable. 
One set for each First Grade Classroom. 

*The daily systematic use of Itie Pfionic Ctiarl, wfiicti is begun witti Booti 
One, should he continued Itirougtiout ifie First Year. 



Word and Phrase Cards (47 in set) 

The Word and Phrase Cards are for the drill necessary to 
train pupils to recognize phrases as wholes — to see related 
words in groups. The abihty to recognize and speak phrases 
as units is essential to rate in silent reading and smoothness 
in oral reading. These Caids may also be so used as to 
furnish a large amount of reading for the pupils with a 
minimum amount of effort on the part of the teacher. They 
are invaluable aids. One set for each First Grade Class- 
room. 

Seat Work Card, No. One 

Contains aU words of Primer Rhymes 1-9 

Seat Work Card, No. Two 
Contains all words of Primer Rhymes 10-17 

Seat Work Card, No. Three 
Contains all words of Primer Rhymes 18-21 

The Seat Work Caids are wrapped in packages of a hun- 
dred, but less than that number may be purchased if desired. 
Since only a part of the pupils of a grade are engaged in 
Seat Work at any one time, the others being engaged in 
recitation, one hundred Seat Work Cards ai-e sufficient for 
a classroom of forty or more pupils. The Rhymes on the 
sheets are to be cut apart and the words used as directed in 
the Manual, Learning to Read. Paste the rhyme to be used 
on the back of an envelope with a sufficient number of 
words inside to duphcate the rhyme four times. These Seat 
Work Cards contribute much to the great result sought — 
the power to read independently. 

C. FOR FIRST GRADE PUPILS 

First Year — First Half 
Aldine Primer, Revised Edition, 1916 
Rhyme Card for Primer — One for each book 
The Rhyme Card for the Primer contains the Primer 
rhymes and is to be used by the pupil for reference when 
reading in the Primer. It is of tremendous value in pro- 
moting independent reading. If desired, less than a hun- 
dred cards may be purchased. 



Aldine Readers — Book One, Revised Edition, 1916 

(Begun) 

Rhyme Card for Book One — One for each book 

The Rhyme Card for Book One contains the first eleven 
rhymes of Book One and it is to be used as the Primer 
rhyme card is used. It is of very great aid to independent 
reading while the pupils are acquiring a sufficient knowledge 
of phonics to enable them to get new words for themselves. 

First Year — Second Half 

Aldine Readers — Book One, Revised Edition, 1916 

(Completed) 

Supplementary 
A Beginners' Reader. Hammond 
The Playtime Primer. Bryce 
Short Stories for Little Folks. Bryce 
Busy Brownies at Work. Bryce 

D. FOR SECOND GRADE TEACHERS 

Learning to Read, a Manual for Teachers, 

Revised Edition, 1918 

E. FOR SECOND GRADE CLASSROOMS 

Phonic Chart with Stand, Revised Edition, 1918 
While- not absolutely essential to the method, this chart 
is exceedingly useful in conserving the time and the strength 
of the teacher, besides possessing great pedagogical value. 
One chart for each Second Grade Classroom. 

Phonic Drill Cards (21 in set) 

The Phonic Drill Cards are to test each individual pupil's 
knowledge and phonetic power, to give individual practice 
in applying such knowledge and power, and to enlarge each 
pupil's vocabulary. Ten sets of the Cards will be sufficient 
for one classroom since individual work is not possible with 
a large group of pupils. The Cards are of great help to the 
teacher in determining the individual needs of her pupils. 



F. FOR SECOND GRADE PUPILS 
Aldine Readers — Book Two, Revised Edition, 1918 

Supplementary — - First Half 
Holidays in Mother Goose Land. Higgins 
Busy Brownies at Play. Bryce 

Supplementary — - Second Half 
Little Playmates — Pupil's Edition. Wray 
That's Why Stories. Bryce 

G. FOR THIRD GRADE TEACHERS 

Aldine Readers — Book Three, Teacher's Edition, 

Revised Edition. 1918 

H. FOR THIRD GRADE PUPILS 

Aldine Readers — Book Three, Pupil's Edition, 

Revised Edition, 1918 

Supplementary — First Half 
Fables From Afar. Bryce 

Supplementary — Second Half 
Folk Lore from Foreign Lands. Bryce 
In Fairyland. Serl 

I. FOR THIRD GRADE CLASSROOMS 
Phonic Drill Cards — See Section E 



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